Kanazawa Chronicles
by Alexia Lunaria
Summary: Set after the events of the GGO arc, Kazuto has been working towards creating a brighter future, one that involves Asuna. He's studied abroad and worked hard developing the technology he needs to keep his promises. A new secret enemy who blames Kirito: Hero of SAO for all the wrongs in their life, places Kazuto and co in a situation he never could imagine. VR manifesting IRL...
1. Promises to Keep

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Chapter One: Promises to Keep

"Ohayo, Oniisan!" Sugu bounced into the living area and took a seat at the table, eager for whatever it was her brother was cooking for breakfast that morning.

"Ohaya, Sugu," Kazuto served her rice with egg and sausage and she wasted no time gobbling it down. "Be careful or you'll get a side ache when you run to school."

She glared at him with a mouth full of food. "Ish nff imrate allutin."

Kazuto rolled his eyes with a smile and sat down with his own plate. "I can't understand you, Sugu. Swallow then speak."

Sugu swallowed and started turning blue. Sighing, Kazuto reached for her water and handed it to her, allowing her to breath. "I thought I was going to die."

"When will you ever learn?" He rested his cheek in his hand and shook his head with a smirk.

"I said it's not like I'm late all the time."

"No, only most of the time," he amended.

Sugu took another drink of water. "…Wanna spar this morning?"

Kazuto thought about it. Sparring was fun but it hadn't held the same excitement for him lately. Everything in his day had become routine. _Not everything,_ he corrected himself. _Today's going to be different. I can feel it._ "No, I'm going to head to class early."

"That project you've been working on?"

He scratched the side of his face and looked away, unable to hide his smile. "Maybe."

"Okay." Sugu left it at that and waved goodbye when Kazuto left for school.

Usually deciding to work on the roof, Kazuto used a micro-sized screwdriver to tighten an equally small screw. The item he worked on was only one inch squared but had more computer processing power than some of the top computers worldwide. He had worked hard on it for over a year and was finally in the final stages.

"There that should do it." He put his tool down and stared at the tiny cube-shaped device with mixed feelings of awe and trepidation. So much was riding on this new invention of his working. _This is going to change everything._ He had come to realize he was bored with the routine. The only sliver of hope he had lay quietly in his palm.

He thought about his path that had led him to the point. His discontent with his family had led him to get into virtual reality games which in turn got him trapped within Sword Art Online for two years of his life. He was undoubtedly changed after that experience but he had also met his true love and some of his best friends through that world.

Following that he had been driven to enter the world of Alfheim in order to save his love, Asuna Yuuki, from a mad man far more crazy than even Akihiko Kayaba. Kazuto had felt complete after that, mostly, but in the weeks to follow he found even regular gaming didn't hold the same excitement for him and he didn't know why. He enjoyed playing and he enjoyed being with his friends so then why wasn't he happy?

Asuna pointed it out one day, following the Bullet of Bullets Tournament. While watching him within Alfheim Online, it had been Liz that commented, "Kirito isn't going to play honestly unless it's a life and death situation. For him, it just isn't the same." And she had been right. It was a harsh reality but after surviving the death game known as Sword Art Online the lack of exhilaration was impossible to deny. Did that then mean that he was like those in the Laughing Coffin who killed for the fun of it?

"You are nothing like them," Asuna had said when she wrapped her arms around him. "You fight to protect those you care about – you enjoy testing your skills – to make yourself better, not to cause pain to others simply because you can."

And he had believed her then but he redoubled his efforts to make this in his hand possible, to give him a new direction and he greatly looked forward to his new future. "Here we go." He tapped a tiny button and the machine hummed to life, floating in his hand. Kazuto Kirigaya stepped back and watched his dream materialize.

Asuna came out of her classroom and ran happily out of the building. She skidded before the stairs, hopped down them two at a time, then steered left where she knew she'd find Kazuto. He stood there in his school uniform, holding his book bag over his shoulder, gazing up at the falling leaves. The yellows, oranges, and reds danced around him in a silent waltz and Asuna's run slowed to a halt as she found herself frozen with awe.

This was a far cry from the man who had been known as the Black Swordsman. A player whose speed rivaled hers: The Lightning Flash. She had been given a unique view of Kazuto as they stayed in that house on Level 22. He was her husband and she his wife. For a brief time they had Yui as their daughter and Asuna had never remembered a happier or more peaceful time in her life.

But Kazuto was no longer the Black Swordsman nor she The Lightning Flash. They were just Kazuto and Asuna, a teenage couple trying to move forward together. She had recently broken new ground with her mother, joining together the strong woman she had become in SAO with the far more timid Asuna Yuuki of reality. Her mother always held her best interest in mind yet never once asked Asuna what she wanted. Asuna had learned from a dear friend that sometimes important things couldn't be spoken with words but conveyed through action.

Asuna had been allowed to remain at her school with her friends. Her mother now understood that Asuna wished to move forward while supporting those around her, being a person they could depend on to make their dreams come true, and in doing so Asuna wished to find her own happiness. Kazuto Kirigaya was the embodiment of that happiness.

Kazuto finally noticed Asuna and turning towards her gave her that rare smile. He was still very reserved with his feelings when others were around but he always had a smile for her. "Omedetou tanjoubi, Asuna."

She blushed at the gentleness in his voice. "Arigatou." She allowed him to take her bag so they could hold hands. Today was her birthday and Kazuto had been very secretive about her present. "Where will we be going?"

"Somewhere private," he hinted. They got on his scooter and she gingerly wrapped her arms around his waist. He drove them to a local garden they frequented for their date days. A particular tree had long thin branches that grew around a park bench and created a curtain. It wasn't completely hidden but it provided a nice, quiet space for them to talk or, oftentimes, Asuna would make them lunch.

Once inside he brought her to the bench and sat her down but didn't sit down himself. Confused, Asuna watched him dig into his pocket and bring out a tiny cube. "Your project?"

He nodded and licked his lips, obviously nervous. "A long time ago I made a promise, the first of many that I intend to keep. Asuna Yuuki, I give you your present." He tapped the cube with his finger and it floated down to about waist level.

Watching intently, Asuna saw it light up and spin. Then the next instant a person, a child popped into existence with long straight black hair and arms spread wide, diving down towards her.

"Happy birthday, Mama!" Yui exclaimed and hugged her mother tightly around the neck.

"Yui!" Asuna instinctively hugged in return but the true value of the present didn't sink in for several seconds. She was hugging Yui, stroking her hair, feeling her daughter snuggle her nose into Asuna's neck…

…and Asuna wasn't logged into any game.

She wasn't in the virtual world…and yet Yui was here.

Tears sprang to her eyes and she looked up at her boyfriend, the genius who had done the impossible. Her mouth opened yet no words came out. Her legs went out from under her and she gripped onto her daughter, _their daughter_ , with new fervor. "Yui! Yui! Yui, you're here!"

"Mama!" Yui cried now too and Asuna felt the drips fall on her arms seconds before they vaporized.

Kazuto came forward to hug his family, his own eyes misting at the scene.

Asuna pulled back and shook her head in disbelief, the words still refusing to come. "H-How?"

He winced, "Well it's kind of difficult to explain…"

"You know what? Never mind. I don't care." Asuna rested her forehead against his in their own show of affection. "This is the best birthday present ever."

Her birthday party was held later that evening at the Dicey Café. Kazuto had already made all the arrangements with Egil and their SAO friends had come together to celebrate the birthday of their mighty lieutenant of the Knights of the Blood Oath. Yui joined them and everyone was as completely awestruck as Asuna had been.

"This is amazing!" Klein admired. "There are endless possibilities with tech like this!"

"Can you make Pina, too!?" Silica begged with wide child-like eyes.

Kazuto shied away from all the attention. "It'll be harder to create the digital body of a dragon than a little girl. Besides that I already had most of Yui's data from SAO." He looked at his daughter happily eating a piece of cake. It was amazing, really. The AI Yui had been the one to come up with the way to break down food and turn it into energy combining heat and the moisture in the air. She didn't need physical energy, of course, but she wanted to be as human as possible.

The light caught her blue teardrop necklace, the item once called "Yui's Heart", and it drew his gaze. Kazuto was reminded of that fateful moment when Yui had disappeared from the land of Aincrad forever. He had never seen Asuna so sad and he made a personal promise to himself to never have her experience that again. Yui's necklace was the key.

Egil nodded in agreement but still couldn't believe his eyes. "What do you call it?"

"I call them Cor Cubes. Cor meaning "heart" in latin," Kazuto explained. "It acts like a hologram with a finite light projection but adds solidity by combining heat and elements in the air."

"You're going to be rich!" Klein winked and motioned with his head towards Asuna. "I'd get all your ducks in a row if I were you before things get big for you. Just when they do, don't forget to spend time with us little guys."

"I'd never do that. I'm not really in it to make it big anyway," he admitted and it was the truth. "I just want to keep my promises." Asuna wiped Yui's face, which was full of frosting, and glanced over at Kazuto lovingly. She nodded once and he nodded back.

Yes, this was the beginning of everything.

"Mr. and Mrs. Yuuki, thank you for meeting with me." Kazuto bowed as he stood before Asuna's parents.

"Of course, Kazuto," Her father, Shouzou, greeted. "You've been a wonderful family friend."

Yuuki's mother, Kyouko, was going to be the one he had to convince. "Are you here to ask us for money to fund some research or project you've been working on?"

"Kyouko-dear!" Shouzou admonished slightly.

That stung but what little Asuna said of her mother warned him she would be like this. He bowed respectfully. "I would never do that, Mrs. Yuuki. I do, however, have a business proposition for Mr. Yuuki if you would allow me to demonstrate?"

Kyouko didn't seem convince but she crossed her arms and remained silent. Taking that as a yes, Kazuto brought out Yui's Cor Cube and manifested her the way he had before, although this time instead of her white dress he had her appear with a more professional white blouse with a navy blue jacket and pants. She had insisted on a big blue bow around her neck and, like most everything she asked for, Kazuto catered to her. His condition for now was to withhold the fact that she was their daughter and instead demonstrate herself simply as computerized AI. He explained the entire "daughter" aspect may be difficult to explain.

Mr. and Mrs. Yuuki were definitely taken back when she suddenly appeared and bowed cheerfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Yui." When she reached forward to shake his hand Mr. Yuuki looked at Kazuto with confusion.

"A hologram, I assume?"

Kazuto just gestured once more to Yui. "Please, you'll see soon enough."

Mr. Yuuki stood up and carefully shook Yui's hand. When he did his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open in surprise. "Impossible." He took his other hand and covered her hand. "Warmth? Body heat!" He fingered her hair and put two fingers to the side of her neck (all things that Kazuto had told Yui to expect so she behaved and stood perfectly still), "A pulse?"

Kazuto took that as an opportunity to explain what the Cor Cubes were. For their part, Asuna's parents remained quiet until the end of his speech. "I know this technology can help people but I need someone with the experience to implement it. Someone who once brought the virtual world to life in ways no one had before."

Mr. Yuuki stroked his chin and walked around Yui the way he had been for the last half hour. "I'm assuming you can make other versions? Male? Female? Old and young?"

"Absolutely," Kazuto promised.

"Not that anyone is going to be as cute as me!" Yui said with a hop.

Kazuto dropped his head into his hand but Mr. Yuuki only laughed, "No, you're right. No one could be as adorable as you." He patted her head and nodded with approval. "I have a perfect way to implement this but…" He looked at the young inventor. "I'm afraid my influence isn't what it used to be…especially after, well you know…"

Kazuto shook his head. "Any advice and direction you can give will be greatly appreciated. The experience you have is nothing so petty that it can be diminished by reputation."

That gave ShouzouYuuki confidence and he straightened his back, standing taller than the high school youth had seen him since Asuna's return to the real world. "Kanazawa is a town rich in Japanese history from the Edo period. You may have visited it on a field trip one time. It has beautiful castles and gardens. It's one of the few places left unscathed from World War II. Technology like this would have great applications for tourism there. Visitors could get treated to manifested artificial intelligence programmed with ancient history, watch geisha perform traditional dances long lost to us, and watch mighty samurai dual with a ferocity unrivaled with choreographed battles!"

Kazuto thought about the potential. "It's a large enough town that we would gain momentum but not large enough that we would lose too many resources if something were to go wrong."

"Exactly," Shouzou nodded. "I know a few people who can help us. Allow me to speak to them first and then you and I can talk about our new partnership later."

Kazuto bowed, along with Yui. "Nothing would make me happier, Mr Yuuki." He stood up and though he was confident he still felt his insides turn to jelly when he met Mrs. Yuuki's eyes. "Except perhaps one thing."

She raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow, "Hm?"

"You're coming over to my house!?" Asuna nearly tripped coming down the stairs as the left the building at school the following week. "And my mother allowed it!?"

Kazuto laughed lightly. "It was her idea."

"Are you sure I'm not trapped in some alternate virtual reality because this all seems too good to be true." Asuna kissed Kazuto on the cheek and waved goodbye as she went to her family's limo. "So I'll see you tonight?"

"Yep. I just have to go home and take care of a few things." He waited until she left and allowed himself to take a deep breath. So many things would have him walking on eggshells and he was intimately aware that things could go very wrong very quickly. He had to keep the faith and believe in the future he was creating. There was purpose for him yet.

 _Things could go wrong or they could go off without a hitch. The excitement…it's what I've been missing. I can do this. Especially with_ _her_ _by my side._

Kazuto went home and took a shower, finding what he wanted to wear for dinner, before he turned on the TV for background noise. He was towel drying his hair when he heard the news anchor:

"We have here Shinji Koujiro, apparent son of Rinko Koujiro and Argus developer Akihiko Kayaba."

Kazuto thought he heard wrong and grabbed the controller to turn up the volume. _Rinko never said anything about having a son. Could it be possible?_

"As your parents before you, Mr. Koujiro, your knowledge of cutting edge technology has been rivaled by very few. For obvious reasons your identity has been hidden so the world must know: why now?"

The boy appeared a little older than Kazuto, maybe early twenties, but by looking at him Kazuto definitely saw a resemblance to the late Kayaba Akihiko. "I have finally completed an invention that will restore my family's honor and carve my name into history." He produced a metal plate that appeared one foot by two feet and was only a couple inches thick. "I call it a Guardian Plate. The same technology my parents used to create the virtual world will now be made real in our world, protecting our people from threats foreign and domestic."

"So this is to be implemented with our military?"

"That's right. I'm to meet with them in a few days time and this invention will revolutionize national defense for all time. Japan will become the new world power." Shinji spoke confidently and something about it gave Kazuto a bad feeling. He paused the interview and zoomed in on the Guardian Plate. It resembled his Cor Cube, which wasn't uncommon in the scientific world, but Shinji seemed intent on using it for military purposes. Kazuto hadn't thought about using the technology that way. He was much more comfortable creating people rather than machines for war.

He looked at the clock on his desk and realized it was time to leave.

"When my technology is fully implemented," Shinji said, looking into the camera, "It will no longer be about Kirito: Hero of SAO, but about Shinji: the Hero of Japan."

Asuna ate carefully while her father spoke to Kazuto about a partnership they had apparently put into the works. Dinner plans made more sense now but she still ate carefully, remembering her manners while her mother kept her usual stoic vigil on the opposite side of the table.

"Okaasan, are you feeling well?" she asked cautiously. The night was going too smoothly for having the boy her mother was adamant would never be welcomed to actually be sitting at their table.

"Everything's fine, dear." She forced a smile. "You know your father's work talks are less than…entertaining."

"Don't say that, dear." Shouzou met her eyes. "This deal could really help a lot of people and once Kanazawa is successful then who knows? Kyoto? Tokyo? The applications for this technology are endless."

"And I am very grateful for your help in this endeavor." Kazuto put his chopsticks down and wiped his mouth clean. "By your leave, I'd like to conclude our other business?"

Shouzou looked across at his wife and waited for her approval. "Of course, Kazuto. Please continue."

Confused, Asuna looked to Kazuto as he stood up and came around the table to stand before her. "Asuna, I recently kept one promise I made to you during a time when our lives were put on the line every day and we didn't know what tomorrow would bring. We decided then that no matter what I lived for you and you would protect me for the rest of our lives."

Asuna smiled fondly. "I remember."

"We returned to this world, back to the lives we survived to see through, and my feelings for you haven't changed. I still intend to live for you, in everything I do, for the rest of my days." Kazuto got down on one knee and opened a ring box that Asuna assumed had a ring within it but she couldn't see straight through all the tears. She quickly wiped them away and saw a huge red garnet set in white gold surrounded by smaller red garnets and black diamonds. The physical embodiment of The Lightning Flash of the Knights of the Blood Oath forever together with her Black Swordsman. "Asuna Yuuki, will you marry me and once again make me the happiest man on earth?"

"Yes! Yes I will!" Asuna dropped into his arms from her chair and hugged him with a lack of composure she was sure her mother would point out later. Once she was calm enough, Kazuto placed the ring on her finger and they shared a brief kiss, aware of the two sets of eyes watching them intently.

"The proposal is conditional, of course." Kyouko stated after she took a drink of wine. "We wish for the Kanazawa project to be successful with subsequent offers to follow."

Asuna's expression dropped slightly, she should have expected as much but Kazuto squeezed her hand in reassurance and she turned to face her mother. "Of course, Okaasan."

Asuna gave Kazuto a tour of her family's shrine and gave him history facts the way she did every sacred holiday but this time she did it with her fiancée. _It's one step closer to that life we had on Floor 22._ When they were far enough away from the main house, Kazuto took out Yui's cor cube and activating it the little girl looked up with wide eyes and barely contained excitement.

"Well? Well?"

Kazuto held up Asuna's left hand entwined with his that now sported the beautiful engagement ring. "She said yes."

"Yatta!" Yui leapt into her mother's arms and Kazuto stepped back to allow the embrace. "Pretty soon we'll all be living together in Kanazawa! It's so pretty and there are trees everywhere!"

"Nani?" Asuna blinked in surprise, looking at Kazuto with confusion.

Kazuto looked away embarrassed. "Yui…I hadn't gotten that far yet."

"I'm sorry, Papa," replied the little girl with a remorseful expression.

"Kazuto?"

He turned to her, the look in his eyes serious. "This project in Kanazawa is important and there's no one else who knows the technology better than I do. We decided I needed to be on site for any situations that need my expertise. We can't afford undue delays due to travel between here and there." He took her hand and ran his thumb over her new jewelry, the promise of his love and of better things to come. "After graduation I'm moving to Kanazawa, your father has already made arrangements for a house."

 _He's…leaving me?_ Asuna couldn't believe it. Her eyes fell upon the one karat garnet now darkened with the lack of lighting.

"A lot's going to happen and I can't succeed without my better half." When she looked up now he was smiling at her. "I was hoping you might want to move out there with me?"

"With us!" Yui hopped up, cupping her parents' hands with her smaller ones.

Asuna's tears came anew and she nodded, "I'll follow you anywhere." _He's not leaving me and now we're going to be together sooner than I could have ever imagined._ "Thank you, Kazuto. I can't believe all of this is happening."

"Believe it because it's only going to get better." He moved forward and kissed her tenderly then and any apprehension Asuna felt earlier that evening evaporated into the night sky.

Shinji Koujiro stood before several military leaders, a dozen of his guardian plates fully manifested on the tarmac. They were large machines, appearing to walk on two legs or roll on tank-like treads. His physical holograms could create and attack with an infinite amount of ammo. It was the perfect weapon with no chance of loss to human life. Transportation was a breeze and once Japan had enough, Shinji could sneak out additional sales to other countries. Everyone was going to want one of his guardians.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Koujiro, but we're going to pass," replied one of the generals.

He blinked and smiled to hide his confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"The weakness these guardians have is too large and once the enemy discovered what it was, dispatching of them would be child's play. The plate needs to be smaller, perhaps better protected, so that it can't be targeted. Make some modifications and come back to us later."

The men walked away and Shinji was left to stand there seething in anger. He had just heard wind that similar technology, some miniscule thing called Cor Cubes, would be launched by a new cooperative group in the town of Kanazawa. He'd done some digging and one named screamed out at him.

Kazuto Kirigaya.

"No, this can't be. Once again he's stolen away my future, that which was rightfully mine! No, I won't stand for it. I'll bring _Kirito_ down and make him sorry for every wrong he committed against me. But I'll play smart. I'll make him lose everything dear first…"


	2. Dangerous Shadows

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Chapter Two: Dangerous Shadows

"Kirito, wake up. Come on, sleepy head. It's already past noon."

The angel's voice awoke him and he obliged her by opening his eyes and gazing up at her lovingly. The sun filtered through white see-through curtains, giving her an ethereal glow. Her hair cascaded around her head in thick locks, the color of honey, and her eyes had a gentle twinkle only for him. He reached up and pulled her down next to him, getting her to squeal in surprise. He loved getting those kinds of reactions from her. "What do you think you'd doing!?" She mock struggled against him but eventually relaxed when he remained still.

"I wanted my sleeping buddy back." He buried his head into her back with his eyes still closed. "I thought that's what you came back for. Your side of the bed was cold when you left."

"I made you breakfast so I came to wake you up!" She turned around and allowed him to use her chest as a pillow. "Honestly…" she chided, stroking his head fondly.

She jolted suddenly and Kirito looked up sleepily to see a dagger piercing her from behind. Blood soaked her orange shirt, soiling the sheets. He was awake in an instant. "Asuna!"

Jolting up in bed, Kazuto withheld a scream and looked around frantically for the culprit. His body was covered in sweat and he shivered in the night cold. He took deep steadying breaths and attempted to calm his rapidly beating heart. It was dark and looking around he realized he was in their new home in Kanazawa. Next to him Asuna was sleeping with little Yui, the AI wanting to experience sleeping with her mommy like they used to. It was a simple request and Kazuto had conceded.

Not wanting to wake them up he got up and left the bedroom, walking barefoot down the wooden steps to the first floor. It had been a while since he had nightmares about Aincrad. He knew many of the survivors had nightmares in the months following their release from the game but now after so many years? _And why would I have a nightmare about that particular time? It was peaceful, without any strife…_

Wishing to drain some of the unnecessary adrenaline, Kazuto decided to go for a run. He changed quietly and ran through the streets of an early morning in Kanazawa. Several of his neighbors who were up at that hour waved at him as he jogged passed. His presence was town was common now but there were still a few whispers here and there.

"That's him. Some big inventor who's going to change everything around here."

He was used to that kind of reaction. He had been in Kanazawa for a couple months now and the project was progressing greatly. Graduation came and went with he and Asuna receiving a great farewell party from their SAO friends. Asuna cried but she told him several times how much she was looking forward for the two of them to be on their own again.

She had been a great help, of course. Her out-of-the-box thinking when it came to his technology helped him several times come up with unorthodox solutions. While he was out working on various locations where his cor cubes were to be used, Asuna kept the house clean and always made sure he ate three meals a day. Her cooking was good if not better than their SAO days and Kazuto truly felt blessed.

So why then, with everything going so well, did he have an inkling that something bad was going to happen? He finished his jog and returned home, pausing to make a certain phone call when it was finally after eight in the morning.

"Hello, Agent Seijirou Kikuoka here," came the voice on the other line.

"It's been a while. It's Kazuto."

"Kazuto! I've been following your success! Congratulations!"

"Thank you. I just called to see if everything's been okay?"

"What do you mean?"

Kazuto pursed his lips and tried to keep from pacing. "Have there been any…incidents involving the VR world lately?"

"Oh that, nope, everything's stayed pretty quiet. Why? Did you have suspicions you needed me to look into?"

"No no, thank you. Sorry for bothering you." Kazuto slowly hung up and forced down his anxiety. _I've just been working too hard._ He went back inside and decided to make breakfast for his family instead. His cooking skills in the real world were thankfully much better than his VR skills and he was able to make a lovely meal of pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

"Good morning, Papa!" Yui bounded down the stairs followed more groggily by Asuna, marks in her cheeks reflecting the creases of the sheets she'd slept against. The look was as adorable as that time under the tree when she'd woken up with drool escaping the corner of her mouth and a blade of grass on her cheek as her souvenir.

"Good morning, Yui." Kazuto served them and then sat down himself.

"So today's the day," Asuna grinned as she took a sip of tea. "Everything's going to go perfectly. You've checked and double checked almost every day."

"At least one of us thinks that." He gave her a sufferable look. "Sorry, bad habit of mine."

"We'll work on it," she replied, "When we're husband and wife again."

Kazuto nodded. If this was successful, Asuna and Kazuto could move forward with their wedding plans and whatever Asuna wanted Kazuto would provide. He only wanted to see her happy and smiling for the rest of her days. She'd earned that. They'd both earned that. He would be able to provide for her and they could do whatever they wanted.

The launch didn't officially begin until three in the afternoon so Kazuto retreated to his office and sat down at his desk. He had books lining the walls and set in a framed glass box high above the door was his copy of Sword Art Online. It had been the first of ten thousand and though it was a dark time of his life it reminded him no matter how bad things got that he was still alive and darkness like that would never happen again.

Turning on his computer, Kazuto opened a smaller side project he had been working on. Smaller being a relative term. With the release of the World Seed, Kazuto had allowed VR games to be created by anyone with a computer and internet. Worlds had spring up like crazy, some better than others. He remembered being in Aincrad and having moments where he would notice things about the game, monsters he would have improved or removed certain flaws, and weapon skills he would like to see.

It had been those thoughts that spurred this drive, during those nights when sleep eluded him or he hit a kink in his work on the cor cubes; the drive to create his own VR world. He didn't tell anyone, of course, and he didn't plan to do anything with it, but it was nice to play around with. He called it Journea and instead of a leveling system it used a player's will to become something better: anything they wanted. They could equip any weapon, any armor, become anything they wanted.

Magic played a part but something Kazuto heard from Kayaba Akihiko all that time ago made him create a system that didn't use traditional health and magic points. Any spec could be altered with a special algorithm that took into account the player's heart rate, adrenaline, and overall sense of will. Monster creation was easy enough; the World Seed would draw from the internet and create monsters and even quests on an endless cycle. Yui had been privy to some of the beginning stages but he intended to use her more for quality control towards the end.

What made his game unique was the game required the input of the user's hometown and the area the player had to work through incorporated familiar landmarks with a fantasy spin. By constantly updating from the internet, the maps would always reflect current real estate. It was why he didn't give his land a name, only the game. No one player's journey would be the same.

Something in the code caught his eye and he frowned, clicking into the administrative section to review his recent changes. "I know I took care of some of this the last time I logged in." It appeared some of his progress had been lost. That was unfortunate but not uncommon. He might've logged out without saving. "I better run a security and virus check just to make sure."

Hours later, Kazuto had lost track of time again, Asuna came to his office. "Are you ready to head to the gardens?"

"I'll be right there." Kazuto took notice of the beautiful yukata Asuna wore for the occasion, after all they were re-creating edo era individuals using his cor cubes. He dressed in a suit and bringing along Yui went to the Kenrokuen Gardens. Yui wore a yukata as well. With her suggestion, he had adjusted her settings to allow her to change her clothes at will with what images she found online, though he restricted her access to remain child friendly.

Asuna's father was there. Her mother was not. After the expected pomp and circumstance, Shouzou Yuuki hit a button and "turned on" the cor cubes stationed all throughout both the gardens and the city limits. Surprise gasps and open mouths were the usual and applause rose into the afternoon air.

Cor cubes would take the form of tourist guides to give direction and suggestions for entertainment based on the most up-to-date schedules. Within Kanazawa Castle and surrounding shrines, his recreations would provide, as his partner had suggested, ancient dances or duels, while some other important figures, such as Oda Nobunaga, would be available to answer questions for those brave enough to ask the mighty warlord.

The gathered crowd was mixed with potential sponsors as well as scientists eager to test the knowledge of these animations. Part of what was funny was those gathered knew about the cor cubes and yet no one looked twice at Yui. She held onto each of her parents' hands and viewed the activities with child-like excitement.

After a couple of hours without any major glitches or system failures, Kazuto left Mr. Yuuki in charge of potential sales and future projects while he treated his wife to a quiet dinner. He ate and made light conversation while they watched the geisha dance in the center of the room. There was such passion and feeling in the movement that he forgot he was watching a manifested program.

"Nee, Papa," Yui asked during dinner. "When will I get a baby brother or sister?"

Kazuto nearly dropped his chopsticks. "W-what are you talking about, Yui? What brought this about?"

She looked innocently up at him. "Well you guys are going to get married soon now right? I did some research and to make a baby I know it takes a mommy and a daddy so I was wondering when? Tomorrow?"

Asuna was bright red and drank heavily of her water before she could answer. "Y-Yui, not that I'm against having children but your Papa is going to be very busy soon and even considering that, we need to actually get married first."

"Where can we do that?" Yui asked.

Asuna played nervously with her rice. "Well, um, it's not that I haven't thought about it, but we would need to send out invitations and find a venue. A lot of planning goes into a wedding, dear."

Yui's expression fell. "Oh…"

Kazuto thought about it. "What if it didn't?"  
Asuna blinked, "Huh?"

Kazuto smiled fondly at his, now, fiancée. "I don't know about you but I've said it before: even if it's not considered valid in this world, I always considered you my wife. So you want a big wedding, small wedding, whatever you wish you will have, but what about just going somewhere to say our vows? It doesn't have to be a big deal just to make that promise to each other…again. It was simple in SAO…it can be that way here."

Asuna thought about it but when her eyes caught her ring she held it up against her heart and cupped it tenderly. "All right. Let's do it. Only we should keep it a secret from my family. We'll still do the bigger ceremony, our families and our closest friends, mostly because they'll hate us forever if we left them out of it."

Kazuto laughed, "Yeah, I can just see Liz's face if she thought she missed out."

"What about Klein's face? I bet he'd even cry during the ceremony!" Asuna laughed.

Yui closed her eyes, accessing local information. "A nearby shrine offers wedding services. Mama already has a pretty dress on."

Asuna blushed and shrugged, putting down her chopsticks and napkin. "What are we waiting for?"

Though it had been his idea, Kazuto was nervous waiting for Asuna to join him. Yui was the flower girl and tossed petals along the carpet proceeding the bride-to-be. Though she was wearing the same yukata, someone had lent her a jeweled headpiece that made her natural glow even brighter and a modest but beautiful bouquet. Kazuto briefly saw the Asuna from his nightmare and shook his head to clear the image away. That wasn't going to happen.

Asuna joined him and they stood together before the head priest of the shrine. Kazuto pledged to live for Asuna as he had in days gone past and Asuna promised to support him and protect him no matter what. They shared a kiss and Kazuto produced two rings he'd quickly bought (and probably paid too much for) from a nearby jewelry stand. Rings could be replaced or upgraded later. What matter was they were husband and wife again and their family would never be apart again.

Kazuto parked in front of their house and took out the key for the front door. Asuna and Yui were behind him when Kazuto heard something inside. He narrowed his eyes and held out an arm, stopping the girls form entering. "Hang on." He reached over and found a nearby rake he had left from cleaning leaves the day before. He turned the door handle and sure enough it was unlocked. Asuna's grip on Yui tightened when Kazuto opened the door and ran through, shouting loudly while holding the rake defensively in front of him, ready for any attack.

"SURPRISE!"

Skidding to a halt, Kazuto fell back on his butt and looked up in pure shock. The rake fell backwards and knocked him in the head right after he thought he saw all of their SAO friends explode in celebration.

Kazuto heard the click of a camera and Klein grinned mischievously. "Yep, that one's a keeper."

Asuna came over to help Kazuto up but she was as clearly surprise as he was. So it hadn't been her idea then either. "What's going on? How are you all here?"

"We wanted to congratulate you on your success!" Liz greeted. "Silica wanted to come but her folks wouldn't give her permission to leave the city. She said she's sorry but offers her congratulations too."

Sinon waved quietly from the side of the pack. "I'm sorry I missed your birthday party, Asuna, so I wanted to make sure I came for this."

"We got everything ready while you guys were gone." Egil stepped aside, revealing the living room table, as well as the dining room table, full of food while the kitchen counter had drinks ready. In his hand Egil popped a bottle of champagne and winced when the cork broke one of the ceiling lights. "I can fix that."

Yui leapt up with excitement and eagerly dove into the food. Everyone sort of looked at each other then broke out in laughter. Asuna and Kazuto missed their friends and it was so good to see them all.

"We've meant to invite you guys over before but with the launch date getting closer every day," Kazuto accepted the glass from Egil. "We just never got around to it."

"Don't worry about that now. For tonight, we celebrate! Bonzai!"

"Bonzai! Bonzai! Bonzai!" Everyone cheered and drank from the champagne glasses, except Yui, of course.

After Liz swallowed her, she held up a card. "Better late than never right?"

Kazuto frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Klein shrugged, "You sent us that card with your house key and invited us for this launch party."

Kazuto looked worriedly over at Asuna when she stepped forward to speak for both of them. "We never sent out anything."

Just then Yui gasped and spun to face her parents. "Papa! I'm detecting an outside signal! It's hacking your computer system!"

"What!?" Kazuto moved to run upstairs to his office when the world began to spin. He shot a look around but already Liz and Asuna were unconscious on the floor. Klein and Egil were on their hands and knees but it was a losing battle.

"Papa!" Yui screamed just as the front door was beat down and lizardmen came barreling in. They grabbed Yui and started taking off with her. They wore leather armor and carried daggers.

Kazuto saw the rake he'd brought in still resting next to the wall where someone had picked it up off the ground. He reached for it but the intruders wouldn't allow him to get that far. A large green tail slammed him up into the second story railing and all he knew afterwards was black.

"Kazuto! Kazuto! Please wake up!"

Kazuto moaned and opened his eyes, looking up at Asuna who cried openly into his chest. "A-Asuna?"

"Kazuto!" She helped him into a sitting position but the slight motion caused his head to pound. "What happened?" He frowned when his motions were restricted and looked down to see black leather arm guards around his wrists. He looked at Asuna and she was dressed in a light blue dress but what hung at her hip was undoubtedly a rapier.

"What's going on?" He used the unbroken portion of the railing next to him to pull himself to his feet. Regarding himself anew, Kazuto saw he wore all black with the same leather armor here and there. Reaching behind him he felt two swords held in a cross sheath on his back. "It's a dream…"

"Or a nightmare." Asuna pointed downstairs where even now their friends, all dressed similarly to their VR avatars, were trying to make sense of the situation.

Egil hefted a large double bladed ax. "I know I'm lifting it but it should feel a lot heavier in my hand. My real body doesn't have the strength to wield solid iron or even steel like this."

Sinon reached to her side and felt a dagger while on her back was an intricately carved wooden bow. "I'm pretty sure I didn't come here with this."

Klein, thinking he too must be dreaming, pulled out his samurai sword and ran the tip softly against his finger. "Ouch!" Crimson blood trickled down from his cut. "No way…" yet no sooner had he been injured than the cut began to heal up until it didn't leave so much as a scar. "I know I was drinking but I didn't drink _that_ much."

Kazuto walked downstairs with Asuna and tried to make sense of what was going on. "We were drinking…something must have been in the drink?"

"The champagne came with the invitation," Liz said, her signature club at her side. "So if you guys didn't send the invitations then whoever did spiked the drink."

"Spiking doesn't explain… _this_ ," Asuna threw up her arms. "And where's Yui? Is she okay?"

"Yui…" Kazuto thought back to the moment right before he had been knocked out, before _lizardmen_ knocked him out. "They took her. I don't know why but for some reason they took Yui." He closed his eyes to try and focus through his fear and panic. "Yui said something about an outside signal hacking my computer…let's start there."

He ran back upstairs and opened his computer. Logging back in he noticed with a start that, "It's gone. Journea is gone."

"What?"

Kazuto tried to find it but everything had been deleted. "Journea…it was a game I was creating, well, playing around with in any case. I hadn't decided if it was release worthy." While he was on his computer Kazuto thought about something and opened a file containing Yui's original data. It was encrypted so whoever hacked his system had left it alone. He tapped a few keys and was able to bring up a map. A red blinking dot near the center of the Kenrokuen Gardens told him what he wanted to know. "There's Yui. I have a chip installed with her necklace, that is, her cor cube. As long as that's detecting a signal then we know Yui's all right."

He stood up and turned to face everyone. "Getting Yui back isn't something you guys have to do. I'm still not certain what's going on so I can't guarantee anyone's safety. Stay here and I'll get to the bottom of this."

Asuna's rapier suddenly appeared at his neck faster than he could blink and he stood perfectly still. "If you think I'm staying here while you go and save _our_ daughter, you're dead wrong."

He laughed nervously. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"I'm with you, too." Klein stepped forward. "Yui's family. She's saved us enough times that it's our turn to save her."

Liz, Sinon, and Egil bobbed their heads and Kazuto knew he was outnumbered. "All right. Let's go outside and take a look." He transferred the GPS signal tracker to his phone and he noticed with dismay that he had no phone signal. Yet another foreboding problem. They went downstairs and withheld the urge to unsheathe his weapon before he even opened the door.

It was still night outside, so they hadn't been out for very long, and pure chaos had erupted in their absence. Monsters were everywhere, varying in sizes, chasing after the neighbors, vendors, and tourists. Several injured were already littering the streets. He ran out and instinctively blocked a sword swipe from a pig-like humanoid before he could cut down a mother and child.

The jolt rocked him to the soles of the feet and it took him a moment to recover before he leveraged enough strength to counter the blow and kick the monster away. Asuna switched out with him and stabbed the monster seven times in two seconds. The monster let out a roar of defeat and shattered like glass. At his feet dropped his cor cube with one of its sides dented.

Kazuto bent over and picked up the cube. _It's starting to make more sense._ _Just gotta find out who's behind it._ "Come on, let's go." He led the way through the streets, saving who they could, and dispatched any monsters they came across. Every time they did Kazuto got a worse sinking feeling. _I know these monsters…_

They made it to the gardens and moved more slowly as the monsters got more powerful the closer they got to Yui. Coming upon one of the larger ponds, Kazuto confirmed her location. "She's on that island." He crouched behind a park bench. "There could be things around the shore but there won't be anything in the water."

"How can you be so sure?" Liz asked.

Kazuto turned to her. "Because they're using my tech."

"You're going to be sorry! My daddy is one of the strongest swordsmen ever!" Yui shouted at someone.

"Yui…" Asuna's eyes misted.

Kazuto came up with a strategy and took a deep breath. "Okay, here's what we're going to do…"

Kazuto waited until his friends took positions nearby on the shore and slowly came into view of the island. He himself had swum underwater quietly emerging on the island's shore. Sure enough as soon as they were spotted, monsters from other locations began to converge on them. The sounds of battle reached him and he used the distraction to creep closer to Yui. The girl herself sat on a rock, her body unbound. Like the monsters, she was unable to enter the water for then her cor cube would malfunction.

"Yui…" he whispered.

Yui turned and smiled widely. "Papa!" She ran to him and hugged him. "I knew you'd find me!"

"Now that everyone's assembled, let the main event begin!" A voice announced from the sky. The island shook and out of the nearby foliage a large ox monster emerged wielding an ax. It towered over Kazuto to perhaps three times his height.

"Yui! Get behind me!" He unsheathed his twin blades and rushed forward, taking the fight to the enemy. As he struck he took note that his blocks against the ax felt different than the strikes he landed against oxen flesh. The monster slashed with his ax and cut the tree Yui had been hiding behind in half.

"Papa!" Yui exclaimed.

"Yui!" Kazuto moved to intervene but he lost his footing in the leaf covered floor. He stumbled and looked up in horror as the monster took another swipe at its new target.

When he did three arrows embedded themselves along his arms, making him roar in pain. Looking across the water, Kazuto saw Sinon standing there. She nodded and he returned the motion. Returning his attention to the enemy, Kazuto looked frantically for the cor cube and saw it glowing slightly on the monster's forehead. He leapt up, higher than he knew he should have been able to, and slashed across the jewel. Instantly the ox warrior roared and disappeared.

"Seeing you in action is so much more satisfying than reading about it or even seeing videos!" the mocking voice sounded again. "I have so much to look forward to!"

"Come on, Shinji, I know it's you." Kazuto called out.

"You're good but I'm better. You'll have to forgive me but like my father before me I have a flair for dramatics." Shinji Koujiro appeared as a Death, floating high above the island. He wore black tattered clothing with a white bone skeleton and red glowing eyes. A great scythe remained gripped in his hand. Kazuto took note that his friends had finished their battles and were watching intently from the shore. "This is your gauntlet and your tomb. You've taken away my glory for the last time!"

"I don't remember taking anything from you," Kazuto stated calmly. "I fought and earned everything I have now. I worked hard for it and I'm sure as a fellow inventor you can attest to that."

"I worked hard, despite my father's reputation, and yet the one thing that should have been mine from him went to you!" Shinji shouted at the end. "The World Seed could have made me famous again but he went and gave it to you. So I did a little investigating, okay hacking, and found out everything about you through Agent Kikuoka's oh so secretive investigation force. After that all it took was simple backtracking to find out about your real life endeavors and make them all mine."

"To what end!?" Kazuto shouted at the sky. "I thought you had guardian plates to sell to the military!"

"My genius isn't something the government is ready to accept. My time, it seems, is still coming, but your time is finished!" Shinji's avatar disappeared and in its place was a map of Kanazawa only now it had new additions. "You probably recognized I borrowed your little game project. Do you like what I've done with it?"

"You've endangered innocent people all to get back at me? You're insane!" Kazuto shook his head. "Get to the point. I'm tired of hearing your voice."

"Your situation is a little more complicated than I think you realize. Your cor cubes, along with several I've added, have been reprogrammed to reflect monsters you yourself created. The city limits have been blocked in by a force field being projected by cor cubes located within thirteen fortresses, six of them air born. Communications and transportation do not exit the city. Any lives trapped within the force field are your responsibility as are their inevitable deaths. Also, like my father, I've decided to give you a fighting chance.

"The nano-machines you ingested with the champagne, another invention of mine, have given you and your party abilities similar to what you're all accustomed. I am meticulous in my research, after all. Healing, magic, weapon skills: use what you will but I can promise you in the end your research will be blamed and any future will be taken away just as mine was taken away by you." Shinji laughed. "Oh and if you're thinking of finding a shortcut to my little game…" the map disappeared and a camera feed of Mr. Yuuki bound and gagged filled the aerial screen.

"Father!" Kazuro heard Asuna call out.

"Happy hunting!" Then the feed disappeared.

Yui held onto Kazuto's arm. "Papa?"

Kazuto, already planning ahead, forced a smile for the little girl. "Don't worry, Yui. Papa, Mama, and our friends are going to take care of this but first things first, let's signal Klein and get one of the boats from the dock over to come get you. It's been a long night."

"But where can we go that's safe?" she asked.

"We'll go home for now," Kazuto replied. "I've got an idea that just might work."


	3. Priorities

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Chapter Three: Priorities

Kazuto moved quickly, placing Yui in the middle of their small group, while keeping all eyes and ears open for enemies. They passed by several clusters of people hiding within buildings or alleyways. There was nothing he could do for them yet. He had to get back to his house and set up a base of operations.

At the next intersection, when a squad of four samurai emerged to block their path, Kazuto increased his speed and tightened his grip on his sword. _Rage spike!_ He shot low at first then when he was within range his sword lit up red. He planted his foot and did a powerful upwards strike. The samurai was caught off guard and Kazuto's strike cut up the middle of his chest plate, splitting his red demon mask in half. The next instant the warrior exploded and the two halves of the broken cor cube fell lifelessly against the floor.

"Aim for the face! Destroy the mask and you'll destroy the cor cube!" Kazuto shouted behind him.

Agil and Klein each took one opponent while Sinon provided backup. Liz and Asuna remained behind to protect Yui. Agil let out a war cry and swung his ax as though it was yesterday. He grunted and blocked what attacks he couldn't dodge. The look in his eye was fierce. Klein followed a moment later, his teeth grit as he struggled to recall his moves. There was a slight hesitation to his motions but as the battle progressed they became more confident and smooth.

Kazuto turned to his right and took a stance against the last samurai. _I can do this. We can do this. Just gotta remember…_ Kazuto admitted looking into the mask of a samurai blocked his view of his enemy's eyes and that was a problem for him. The eyes let him read what they were going to do before they did it. Now he didn't have that advantage. He paid attention to the legs next, seeing which way the warrior leaned. He'd watched Klein fight several times and knew the types of attacks to expect.

Something caught his eye and he froze. _His sword is still in its sheath. That means…_

Klein had just finished his opponent when he noticed the same thing and called out, "Kazuto, abunai! That's a quick draw technique!"

Kazuto went from an offensive stance to a defensive stance a split second too slow. The samurai's katana flashed and Kazuto saw it replaced to its sheath after he had already been attacked. He felt the sting of the strike against skin and fell backwards even as Agil was yanking him backwards and Klein switched out to perform a thrust into the samurai's face. The mask cracked and the damage was enough to destroy the cor cube.

Kazuto sheathed his weapons in exchange for applying pressure to his arm which streamed blood down his shirt.

"Kazuto!" Asuna came rushing forward, afraid for her husband.

"Papa!" Yui knelt down, too.

"There's no time," he hissed through the pain. "We have to get back to the house." He pushed himself up to his feet just in time to see Liz step in front of him. She was angry and glared at him.

"You can wait a minute for us to bind you temporarily, Mr. Hero." She held up the ribbon from her waist bow and quickly bound his arm.

"Hurry, it's just over there," Kazuto allowed the boys to take point while he hung back with Yui and Sinon took the rear. Once they were inside Sinon took a position by the front window and kept watch while everyone else moved nearby furniture in front of the door. Kazuto gingerly sat down at the base of the stairs.

Asuna appeared before him with a wet towel. "Kazuto, we have to get you to a hospital!"

He shook his head. "You're gonna have to heal me."

She gasped, "I don't even know how!"

"You did it before without meaning to, a rapier skill in any case," Kazuto explained. "When you fought the pig monster. Our skills activate when we call out to them mentally. Just close your eyes, focus, and remember the spell for healing." He smiled with reassurance when she hesitated. "I know you can do it."

Asuna took a deep breath and held her hands over his arm where already blood had soaked through the binding. The edge of her body glowed a light green and he felt the pain ease on his arm. Movement under the binding gave him some discomfort but he knew without looking his skin was knitting back together. When she was finished he removed the cloth and sure enough his skin was healed. "I did it," she breathed with relief.

"Papa!" Yui came and jumped into his arms, giving him a hug.

"No way…" Liz breathed. "I heard that weirdo say it but still…she really did it."

"How?" Agil asked.

Kazuto hugged Yui a moment before he got serious and address everyone. "First thing's first: we have to secure our safety here. Let's go upstairs."

"I'll check the upstairs rooms to make sure no one broke in while we were gone," Klein offered, moving to walk passed Kazuto.

Kazuto caught his sleeve and got him to look down at him. "Thank you…for earlier."

"Don't start that now. I did what had to be done," Klein replied with uncharacteristic modesty but he did wipe his nose with pride. "We need you to get us out of this mess. It's not over yet."

"No," Kazuto agreed. "It's just beginning."

Once everyone was upstairs, Kazuto opened a box from the closet and brought it over to his computer. He took out spare cor cubes and did some quick modifications to the base program on his computer. Then he connected each cor cube with a special cable to upload the program. He held up eight cubes. "Klein, you and Agil take these and place them around the house so the projection forms a giant cube. The ones that need to project from the air will move into position once you turn them on with his button right here."

"Got it," Agil took the cor cubes and started to leave.

"Hang on," Kazuto held out his hand. "Leave your phones."

They two exchanged looks but handed over the smart phones.

"What's the point?" Klein asked. "They don't work, right?"

Sinon nodded, "The force field is blocking all signals."

"Right," Kazuto agreed. "But I thought about it and I was able to use Yui's GPS to find her which means some kind of signal can be used. Not to mention Shinji was able to project a live feed to us somehow, right? More than likely Shinji as a private antenna set up somewhere _inside_ the barrier. I plan to use that."

"To do what?" Asuna asked. "Call for help?"

Kirito shook his head. "Don't forget, Shinji said if we tried a short cut, your father would pay the price. We have to play by his rules, but to do that I have to make sure we're as prepared as possible." He took out his phone and accessed a particular file. "It's not much but I made a digital game book that explains some of the strengths and weakness of the monsters as well as other things about Journea that might be helpful."

"So we're really doing this?" Liz asked.

"Do we have a choice?" Sinon wondered.

"In the meantime, Yui, I have a theory but I need your help," Kazuto stated. "Do a digital scan on me and try to get a grasp on those nanomachines."

"Okay." The little girl moved forward and placed her hands on the side of Kazuto head then closed her eyes.

It took thirty minutes for Agil and Klein to do their job and another thirty minutes for Kazuto to finish programming everyone's phones. "We'll probably have to completely reset our phones when all this is done but they'll work."

Asuna came back from the kitchen with a tray full of snacks. "It is almost sunrise. I figured we'd need something more to eat. Especially since those monsters destroyed our after-launch party food."

"Food sounds like a great idea. Let's take the food downstairs and have a meeting." Kazuto stood up. "Yui, are you finished?"

"Yes, Papa," she confirmed.

"Okay, we'll go over the results during the meeting." Kazuto helped the girls clean the living room and pulled up the overturned table. Everyone gathered around and knelt on the floor around the table. "Go ahead Yui."

"Shinji's nanomachines are located all throughout your body but most have attached to various part of your brain. They've been programmed to work similarly to the amusphere: to translate and transfer brain signals. Their signal goes to smaller cor cubes placed in your skin. I can only imagine he's found a way around their weakness to water. They would have had to move through your blood stream to get to where they are. Their function is what created your armor and weapons. It also will be responsible for creating your magic and sword skills here in the real world."

"How did my healing spell actually work then?" Asuna wondered.

"When you cast your spell it sent out a signal, then the other nanomachines in Papa's body received the signal, essentially, and worked to heal it from the inside."

Agil whistled. "With tech like that, you'd think this guy would be rich and famous by now."

Kazuto nodded, "It's true but I don't think helping people is really what Shinji's all about. He wanted the World Seed. He wanted the military to need him. What he craves is power. It's true his nanomachines would make medical breakthroughs the world over but for him that's too boring."

Asuna brought out a map of the city to place on the table before everyone.

Kazuto squared his shoulders and cleared his throat, "So here's where we stand: the city has essentially become another Sword Art Online only this time we're fighting with our actual bodies _aside_ from having the chance that we could actually die."

"It sounds so great when you say it like that," Klein rolled his eyes.

Asuna looked more closely at the map as if it would give her some kind of clue. "And somewhere there are thirteen fortresses that are the key to releasing the city."

"Right," Kazuto looked down at his daughter. "Yui?"

"Okay," Yui came up to the map and proceeded to circle seven areas with a marker. "Because the program was originally daddy's game, I'm able to access it through his computer the same way I did the cardinal system through the administrator console. These are the seven ground based dungeons. Because we're in the real world, Shinji cannot randomly change terrain so most likely they will be above ground, erected in areas with wide clearance."

"That still leaves the other six," Sinon addressed. "The ones in the air."

Kazuto took the marker and made a five pointed star within the circle of seven Yui had written and the last circle was in the center of the star. "I saw them on our way here. It makes sense, in a way. The first seven make a seven-pointed star, viewed as holy by some religions. The next five create a barrier, I'm assuming to prevent us from skipping to the last dungeon at the very top of the force field. Those five and the symbol of the pentagram are viewed as evil or sometimes protection, either applies here. It's a combination of good versus evil. Let's take care of what we can and worry about the airborne ones later." Kazuto looked the map over. "We have one two other priorities first and with any luck we'll be able to take care of them at the same time."

Asuna's eyes watered. "The innocent citizens of Kanazawa."

"Right," Kazuto pointed to one spot. "This place for instance: the hospital, can serve as a safe house. There's probably already injured there and doctors to help them. We need to make sure the monsters can't attack there."

"Do you have more of those cor cubes?" Agil asked. "If we can protect this house, could we erect bigger force fields around entire buildings?"

"That's what we're going to try," Kazuto leaned back and massaged his temples. "We can't help the people efficiently until we know what we can do. I can explain some of what it takes but everyone has to learn how their spells and magic works."

"It's so weird to think we'll be doing them in real places," Liz sighed. "I mean like surrounded by buildings and paved roads."

"That was the point of Journea, originally," Kazuto admitted. "It took the players' hometown and recreated it in the VR world so that you could be essentially saving your own home from fantasy threats."

"Kind of sad that it's now being used against us," Klein's shoulders drooped.

"There's no denying that I'm scared," Sinon said, getting to her feet. "But I can't stand by and watch defenseless people get slaughtered…" she looked at Kazuto. "You taught me that my actions that day saved people and that's what I want to do now. At least this time I'll be fighting monsters and not people."

"Some of the monsters may be humanoid; we have no idea the extent of their creation," Kazuto pointed out. "Minus Yui we have six combatants. Breaking up individually is too risky. We'll go in pairs and create three safe houses then gather as many people as we can and get them there."

"How will they get in if the barrier's set up?" Asuna wondered. "How do we get out of ours?"

This time Yui piped up, "It all has to do with signal. The cor cubes hijacked by Shinji are using a different signal than we are and those without cor cubes won't be effected either. We programmed _our_ force fields to allow entrants of certain people whereas Shinji blocked off travel either way completely."

Asuna looked at Kazuto worriedly. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to rush and save my father immediately but as it is I can't even reach him. I can already tell: the final dungeon has my father at the end of it."

"Once we have the citizens safe and our abilities figured out, I've already made plans for afterwards." Kazuto stood up now as well. "Asuna and I will take the hospital. Klein and Sinon you guys take City Hall. With any luck the city's leaders will be there as well. Explain the situation and urge them to stay where they are. We'll work with making sure everyone has supplies later."

"That's right, without anyone able to leave the city, no food or water can come in either," Lizbeth followed along. "We take too long and everyone will die of hunger and thirst."

"I did the calculations and with the city's current supplies we've got two weeks, maybe three. It's enough time." Kazuto turned to the last pair. "Liz and Agil you guys take the stadium. That will be able to hold the most people that aren't injured the most comfortably."

"You got it," Agil nodded.

"I know we're tired but this can't wait. We'll divvy up the remaining cor cubes after I've programmed them and head out to our designated locations." Kazuto handed out the smart phones again. "This is going to sound stupid but Shinji also set up vendors for gear and weapons throughout the city. They'll look like regular people, probably, but they won't be cowering or hiding from monsters. Talk to them if you happen to find one and mark their location on your phone maps. I've linked all of our phones to reflect the same information. It'll also let us know where the others are at any one time, too."

"If there are vendors then there must be currency," Liz started messing with her phone.

"It's on there," Kazuto confirmed. "Our phones were automatically updated with an app that reflects currency gained by the monsters we've slain. You'll hear an alert when the amount changes."

"Crazy…" Klein breathed. "Other than the actually getting hurt and dying part this could almost be considered cool."

"Okay everyone, let's do this."

Sinon started first by making sure reaching behind her and pulling out arrows came as easily as breathing. As soon as she found a vendor and came up and regarded them carefully. The vendor stuck out like a sore thumb because who would try to stay open this late at night outside? The woman was standing in front of a wooden stand. Paper lanterns lit up her wares. Coming closer Sinon saw, as she had from afar, arrows and weapons on display.

"Ah, an archer, please take a look at my gear. I have regular arrows should you find yourself short as well as poison arrows, high velocity arrows, and extra piercing arrows."

Klein marked the vendor on his phone then walked forward to regard one of the swords hanging against the back wall. "Without stats how are we supposed to tell if the weapon is stronger than what we have?"

"It's not always about weapon strength but how the weapon is wielded," the vendor replied with that same unnerving smile.

Klein picked up the sword and immediately could sense the difference. "It's so much lighter!"

"But no less sharp. The combination of metals decreased the weight without compromising strength."

Sinon looked at her expenses. She couldn't afford much but she stocked up on regular arrows and made a mental note to return here later. "Let's go."

"Okay…I can't afford a new sword yet anyway," Klein whined but followed the girl towards City Hall.

Sinon kept her eyes peeled and used areas with cover as often as she could. Klein took point but he simply walked down the street like it was any other day.

"It might work out for me if I manage to save some beautiful girl with my mad skills but knowing my luck I probably wouldn't be her type." Klein sniffed. "Kazuto gets all the luck."

Sinon saw something over the next clearing and grabbed Klein's collar, yanking him to the ground, "Get down!" She ducked down and regarded the newest problem.

"I already am down!" Klein rolled over onto his stomach so he could push up onto his knees. "What was that for?"

Sinon pointed to the trio of monsters roosting on the corner of a nearby building. "They haven't spotted us yet but when they do we'll be at a disadvantage on the ground." She was used to Alfheim Online where she could take the fight to the skies but as it stood they were stuck on the ground.

Klein nodded. "I'll head out first and be the decoy. When you've got a shot, take it."

"Klein I'm not using you for bait!" Sinon protested. "If they get their talons on you and lift you more than ten feet and you fall, you're going to end up with two broken legs!"

Klein gave her his best roguish smile. "They'll have to catch me first." He winked and rushed out of their hiding spot shouting loudly. "Hey you ugly buzzards! Let's see who's faster? My quick draw or your scaly wings!?"

Sinon sighed dejectedly. "It's not like they can understand us."

The monsters, appearing to Sinon to look like Pterodactyls, screeched and dove off their perch. Sinon took out her bow and narrowed her eyes. "It's just like GGO. I just have to calm my breathing." As she attempted to take aim, she noticed her vision zoomed in like an eagle's, clarifying her target at a much greater distance than her human eyes should have been able to. _Must be those nanomachines._ It was invasive to think little machines were working inside of her. Hopefully they would be able to be removed when everything was said and done.

"I can do this." She tightened her grip on the riser of her bow and released her first arrow. It struck the winged reptile in the chest. Getting up, she took out another arrow and aimed for a second monster. Just as it flapped its wings in alarm, which slowed its flight pattern, Sinon landed a hit against that one as well.

Unfortunately wherever her arrows landed weren't where their cor cubes were. "Dammit!" Acting quickly before Klein could get hurt, Sinon fired three more arrows, this time taking out one wing of each monster, taking away their ability to fly. They squawked with dismay and were forced to land awkwardly on two feet.

Klein's hand hovered over the handle of his sword. "I've got this." He bent his knees and dashed forward, his blade a blur of motion. Sinon watched carefully and when Klein landed a hit to their neck, marked by a slight color variation in their scales, the monsters shattered.

Klein dispatched of two before the third one head butted him to the ground. The monster pinned Klein down with one clawed foot and opened its mouth wide. At that moment Sinon leapt up onto a parked car and took aim with her bow.

"I don't think so," she beheaded the beast and sighed with relief when Klein stood up, wobbling slightly.

"See, that didn't go so bad, right?"

Sinon shook her head but a smile crept onto her face. "At least now we know their weakness."

Klein, continuing to wince and hold his head, took out his phone. "I'll update the player's book. Let's get to City Hall."

Lizbeth and Agil made good progress, slamming their way through the city, but Liz's arms were starting to burn. Agil noticed this and decided they needed to take a rest. With them were maybe fifteen people they'd come across and saved. They were currently taking them to the stadium. Agil broke the window of a convenience store and ushered everyone inside.

"I'll watch the door. You get the others to gather supplies so we can take them to the stadium." Agil asked in his always deep-as-ever voice.

"Okay," Liz went inside and immediately went for the water cooler. Opening it she turned to the greater portion of refugees. "Carry what you can, however you can. We're not sure how long supplies are going to last or how difficult it will be to restock later."

She grabbed a bottle for herself and stepped aside, moving to sit on the front counter. Her hands had blisters from wielding her hammer. _If we find a vendor, I'm going to get a mace to carry around as well. If I'm lucky I'll only have to use a hammer during boss fights._ Unfortunately, one difference between this death game and SAO was she couldn't switch out weapons on a whim. She came with what she had. _Then again it wouldn't be that much harder to have a mace at my side while wielding the hammer. But if I want to use the mace, I'll be holding the hammer across my back. That could slow me down._ She'd have to think carefully on it.

The monsters they'd ran into were pretty basic, what she remembered being in the lower levels of SAO. Slimes, giants rats, and orcs. Liz assumed the harder monsters would be in the dungeons.

"Liz! You better get out here!" Agil shouted suddenly.

Liz hopped off the counter and ran to the front door. From down the street was a pack of wolves, maybe seven or eight total. They smelled meat and per their programming they were going after it. She tried to wield her hammer but hissed in pain. _Dammit!_

Agil saw the motion and held an arm across her. "Get back! I'll provide the first line of defense! Find something else you can use and catch anything that makes it passed me."

"All right!" She withheld from saying sorry because there was no time for that now. They had children in their group. They couldn't let them down. Liz looked around frantically and saw a small ax in a glass case on the wall behind the counter. Sliding over the front desk, she broke the glass with her elbow and quickly took out the weapon.

Agil was a big guy and the wolves hesitated after two of their party went down. "The cor cube's located somewhere in the middle of their backs, along the spine. Just gotta watch those damn teeth!" His arm already sported a bite but it wasn't very deep.

Liz brought up her ax and though it still hurt to hold, it was a level of pain she could fight through. Two wolves attacked Agil at the same time while two others went around him as soon as he was distracted. Liz caught one wolf under the chin and while he was stunned, she dodged the lunge from the second one and aimed for the cor cube the first chance she got. As soon as the initial one recovered she kicked glass up into its eyes and spun around to its side where she delivered the killing blow.

Agil, having finished off a majority of the beasts, turned around and smirked. "Not bad, little lady."

She held up the ax, "I never leveled up any ax skills in my ALO days but I seemed to have managed." She went back inside the convenience store and stocked up her pouch with first aid to help Agil's arm. Once she'd bound it she said, "We'll have Asuna take a look at that as soon as we get back."

"Right, we're about halfway there. Let's go."

Asuna and Kazuto made quick progress and ran most of the way, stopping only when they found a vendor to mark on their map. They didn't find any civilians and it was disturbing to see the city as abandoned as it was.

"They're probably hiding," Kazuto commented. "They don't know the difference between friend or foe right now." He had forgotten to calculate the chances that their presence might be viewed as negative if they were confused with the enemy.

"How will we get the word out to everyone that there's somewhere safe they can go?" Asuna asked.

"Well, there's hope so long as Shinji keeps his antenna running. I can modify the phones to bounce off that antenna and we can have limited communication with other devices. Agil might be able to even set up an emergency broadcast that will tell people where to go. It's something to look into."

They approached the hospital and sure enough local police had set up a barrier to prevent monsters from getting in. Already Kazuto could see the floor littered with broken cor cubes. He reached behind him and tapped his swords, wishing for them to not be projected (essentially unequipping them) and they disappeared. He did the same with his armor until he looked more or less normal.

He moved forward to approach them when Asuna grabbed his hand. "They could shoot you and you have no way to defend yourself."

He gave her a cover up smile. "Then I'll just have to have you heal me again."

Asuna unequipped her rapier and stood up next to him. "I'm not taking that chance."

Together they allowed the police to see them, then held up their hands to show they were unarmed.

"Halt! State your names loudly and we'll check the city's census report to see if you're really human!" one of the police officers shouted.

"Wouldn't that not work for tourists?" Kazuto questioned, realizing he just put his foot in his mouth.

The police officer growled in annoyance, "We've taken into account flight logs for anyone who came in from out of town!"

"Not bad," Kazuto said under his breath.

Before he could make the situation worse, Asuna shouted, "We are Kazuto and Asuna Kirigaya!"

"Kirigaya!" The name went flying through the ranks. "Is this your fault the city's fallen under siege!?"

Kazuto winced but Asuna glared at the police, "No! It wasn't Kazuto's fault! Someone hacked his cor cubes and made them into something they were never meant to be! Let us approach so we can explain everything and help you!"

When the people hesitated, Kazuto slowly brought out his cor cubes. "If you set these up around the hospital, it'll create a force field similar to the one that's trapping us here. You'll be able to safeguard the injured!" He looked at the men before him who were obviously tired and worn out. "Your men need rest! You can't keep up this barrier with the few men you have left! Let us help you!"

It took a moment but the pair were eventually allowed forward. The police chief holstered his weapon and regarded Kazuto with as much indifference as he could. "Alright, Mr. Kirigaya, tell us what happened."


	4. Gauging the Enemy's Strength

Note from the author: A special thank you to everyone who has taken the time to submit a review. I cater to the reader in the sense that I take extra time to avoid plot holes and "what ifs". I try to cover all my bases. I also pride myself on creating a viable and believable story that keeps readers enthralled. Mistakes and inconsistencies, even spelling errors, can bring a reader out of the story and they're reminded that it's not real. I want everyone who reads this story to feel they are watching the actual ending to a magnificent anime series. I also wished to reward those readers by telling you I have plotted out several chapters ahead and you all have no idea what you're in for. One suggestion, if you wish a further understanding of the story, feel free to google places and names suggested here as most of it is based on fact. Kanazawa Castle, the stadium, City Hall, and Kenrokuen Gardens are all real places and the images might help you dive further into the story. Thank you again!

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Chapter Four: Gauging the Enemy's Strength

Though they had allowed him within the barrier, the police kept Kazuto near the entrance of the emergency room. It was as annoying as it was insulting but Kazuto understood. He explained what he could as simply as he could. The chief followed along better than he was expecting.

"This is Shinji blaming me for a perceived wrong. Thus, he wants me to clear his game," Kazuto crossed his arms.

The chief growled, "Of course I don't have any evidence to support your story…but it's at least put a little sense to all this craziness."

"Once I've set up my cor cube force field, the monsters will be unable to penetrate the hospital. I have friends doing the same at City Hall as well as the stadium." Kazuto moved forward with his plan. "If you're willing I could use your help getting any civilians still trapped into the city to the various safe houses. Using your census information we can narrow down how many are here injured or otherwise accounted for, combine that with the other two safe houses, and determine how many are still out there."

The chief looked at Kazuto judgingly and for moment he was afraid the old man would start another argument over pride. Instead he said, "We'll take care of the civilians. If you can get our communications working, my men will secure the city. If this mad man has given you special skills then it's your job to defeat those fortresses and get us out of here. It's the least you can do after allowing your technology to be hacked and used in such a manner."

"Yes sir, I promise." Kazuto bowed and got to work. It would take too long to change all of their equipment but he did his best to show the officers how to adjust their radios to use the antenna within the city. That way they could go out and get everyone else on the same signal, too.

When he was finished and looked around for his wife. "Asuna?" He walked around a bit, wondering where she could be. Remembering the tracking information he'd included with the phones he knew she was still nearby so he didn't panic and simply glanced around. He found her standing over some little girl that was crying on one of the beds that had been set up in the waiting room.

There were more injured than they had room for at the moment so beds had been set up to make patients comfortable until the doctors and nurses could get to them. This little girl was crying from injuries she sustained on her legs. Blood has soaked through her binding, soiling her sheets. Asuna was glowing green attempting to heal her but as he watched he saw the green glow begin to fade. "Asuna!"

He rushed forward just as the glow vanished and she collapsed backwards. Asuna shook and wept in his arms. "I can't…I can't help her. Nothing I do works. She has no one here for her, Kazuto, no one's helping her. She just alone and scared."

Kazuto understood what Asuna was feeling. The little girl reminded him of Yui and though their AI daughter didn't have a body that could be hurt in such a manner he knew if she had, or if this was his daughter, he'd be upset, too. "Asuna, your abilities won't work on her because she doesn't have nanomachines inside to accept the signal."

She grabbed hold of his shirt and looked up pleadingly, "Then do a blood transfer! Get the nanomachines where they'll work!"

Kazuto shook his head. "Even if we could, once word got out that we had that kind of ability, there'd be a mad rush for others to go through the same thing. We can't have that right now. Besides," he picked her up and carried her in his arms. "We can't risk you overdoing it. There are obviously consequences."

"I don't understand…" Asuna whimpered. "Why am I so tired? How is there a limit to the amount of spells we can do? We're not using real energy."

"I'm not sure but it's something to look into when we get back home." Kazuto kissed her head. "Rest. I'll watch over you. We'll wait until you're recovered and then leave."

"Okay…"

Klein and Sinon found the City Hall and entered the building slowly, looking around for survivors. From behind the front counter, two security officers came out armed with guns. Upon seeing two people in fantasy armor they began shooting. Klein and Sinon took cover and restrained from fighting back.

"Hey! We're the good guys!" Klein shouted.

In retrospect, Sinon wished she'd bought a few of the sleep arrows for situations like this. She looked over at Klein, "What do we do?"

"I could try blocking the bullets with my sword but the only one known to be that fast was Kazuto." Klein took out his sword and smiled at her. "At least if I miss then when I bleed they'll know we're real."

"Klein!"

The samurai came out of hiding and stood opposite of the two men. They hesitated upon seeing his resolve but each fired a round and Klein twirled his sword. He blocked one but the sound wasn't right. Instead of sparks it felt like he'd struck a ball. Frowning he saw the bullet bounce off a nearby wall and strike him in the arm. "Ow!" The second bullet struck him in the thigh. "Ow!" There was no blood. Seeing the first two didn't work the security officers fired more in hopes of subduing him. "Hey stop it! That stings!"

Sinon withheld a laugh and covered her mouth when she failed. "Rubber bullets?"

Getting frustrated, Klein rushed forward and slashed with his sword, cutting off the barrels of the guns. The tips fell to the ground in two smoking heaps. "We're not going to hurt you!" The men exchanged looks and reached behind them bringing out their tasers instead. "Oh crap…"

Sinon appeared behind them and knocked them out by using her bow against the back of their necks. They crumbled and she sighed. "It had to be done." They pulled the men up against the wall and placed them as comfortably as they could. Sinon saw a map of City Hall on the reception desk so she took a quick peek at it and determined where everyone would be if they were still there. "Come on. Let's go."

Running through the hallways they encountered a few more officers but knowing they were using rubber bullets made getting passed them easier. The pair came to the large conference hall where the city leaders held their meetings and cautiously knocked on the door. "We're here to help! How many of you are there? Is the mayor with you!?" Sinon shouted

"We're in lockdown! Don't open that door or we will shoot!"

"Locked down until when!? There's no other help coming! We can protect you but you have to listen to us!" Klein tried.

"Tell us through the door!"

Klein rolled his eyes and stepped back, "This is stupid!" He kicked down the door and looked in to see a group of business suits cowering behind their desks. "See? We're not monsters!"

"Fire!" ordered one of them, presumably the mayor.

Two guards on either side of the group took out their guns to take aim but it was Sinon this time who stepped forward. "I don't think so." She fired two arrows and jammed both guns down their barrels. "You will listen so we can move forward with saving this city. We don't have time to waste here."

Struck by awe, the city's leaders seemed to come out of their fear and slowly stood up. "We will listen to you."

By the time Kazuto made it back to his house, everyone was already waiting for him.

"Mama! Papa!" Yui leapt up and greeted them warmly. "I kept track of your status through the computer and got worried when Mama was struck with Fatigue!"

"Hang on," Liz stood up. "There are status effects? How is that possible?"

"We were wondering the same thing," Kazuto admitted. "Asuna tried healing someone and I think she over did it."

Asuna took a seat and avoided Kazuto's gaze. "I suddenly felt like I was super sleepy and couldn't stay on my feet anymore."

Yui went over and gave her mother a hug. "I did more research on Papa's computer. The nanomachines have been programmed to simulate status effects by adjusting the hormones in the body. Fatigue, for example, is created by causing the body to increase melatonin levels, the hormone responsible for the onset of sleep. Confusion, paralyze, poison, even berserk are all conditions that can be duplicated just by messing with the body's natural functions."

Klein frowned, "Wait, how can someone suddenly go berserk?"

The little girl looked evenly at him and it was unnerving to try and see the AI hidden within her form. "By increasing testosterone and adrenaline in the body to create the anger and inhibiting the body's sense of judgment, of right and wrong, and you get a person looking for something to hit and he doesn't care what it is."

The room fell silent and Kazuto knew he had to restore morale. Something occurred to him and he started laughing. His friends looked at him strangely, even Asuna, and he had to calm himself down before he could speak. "Sorry. I was just thinking how whenever we're down like this, we should think of what we're fighting for. It's what we used to do in SAO: talk about the family waiting for us or things we hadn't done." He went over to Asuna and pulled her to her feet. "I was driven to beat the game and bring Asuna back into the real world, no matter what it cost."

He turned towards their friends and held up her hand that held her new ring. "We were going to keep it a secret but then everything happened so fast, we forgot to tell you the most important news."

Liz saw it first and her eyes went round in surprise. "No way!"

Agil smiled knowingly. "You just couldn't wait for the rest of us."

Asuna smiled, "We were going to have another, bigger ceremony to invite everyone to but we just didn't want to wait anymore."

Klein grabbed Kazuto away from his wife and knuckled his head. "That's my boy! You did it right and you did it fast!"

"I don't know about fast," Sinon pushed her glasses up on her nose, then realizing she didn't need them so long as the nanomachines were doing their job, put them away in their case again. "They were together for three and a half years if you count SAO, right? Sounds right to me."

Agil came up and patted Kazuto on the back. "It was long overdue."

The group's spirits lifted, Kazuto made sleeping arrangements as best they could and everyone settled in for the night. Yui and Asuna slept in bed with him and although he was beyond exhausted, his mind kept planning and strategizing in his mind. _This is different than it was in SAO. Back then I was a solo player, I looked out for myself. When I started on the assault team, it was to beat the game and save everyone without the loss of life. The problem's the same but why then do I feel fear and hesitation?_

He thought about his friends, stuck here now at this moment in time. They had been brought here by some crazy guy who blamed Kazuto for his lot in life. _That's what's different. In SAO I was the same as everyone else: a victim. This time, my wife and closest friends are here because Shinji wanted to hurt me. My technology is what enabled him to make all this happen. It's my fault._

Asuna's hand appeared and pulled Kazuto's cheek to face her. Yui was curled into her chest and in the daytime light Asuna's hair gave off that glow he loved so much. "I know what you're thinking so stop."

"I can't…" he allowed to tears to come. "All I wanted was to keep my promises to you, for both of us. If I never created the cor cube, if I never created Yui…"

"Don't you dare." She met him sternly in the eyes. "Creating our daughter, who by some miracle was able to retain her programming even after she was deleted by the Cardinal System, bringing her to life with an actual heartbeat…Kazuto you created a miracle. You had nothing but good intentions so don't for a second think you did anything wrong."

Kazuto was comforted by her words but still the tears came and he gripped onto his family, unsure of the future and unsure that he could be the leader that so many people needed him to be.

The following morning Kazuto sat around the table while his wife made everyone breakfast. They ate light, considering supplies, and the overall mood was serious.

"So where do we start?" Agil asked first.

"Recon," Kazuto answered plainly. "We know where the dungeons are but we don't know anything about them. We need to gauge the enemy's strength, see if there's any elemental theme, and figure out what order we're going to take down each place."

"There are seven dungeons and only six of us," Sinon pointed out.

"I'll check two of them," Kazuto explained. "The plan is not to engage but scout the beginning areas. Don't travel too deep because we don't have the convenience of teleport crystals. You get surrounded and there's no way out."

The rest of the conversation was lighter after that, everyone sharing what they'd learned both about this new death game and about their abilities. As dire as the situation was, the gamer within each individual was ignited and there was some excitement.

"Maybe if we're lucky we can do a little grinding and collect some money before our first raid." Klein looked up sheepishly. "I really want that sword."

Liz rolled her eyes. "If I could get my hands on a blacksmith's station I could create weapons for all of us."

"Would that even work here?" Asuna asked. "Are there materials to collect?"

Yui shook her head. "Unfortunately the cor cubes do not possess the ability to create drops because once the cube is destroyed, so does its ability to project matter. Even if the materials joined your account digitally, there would be no cor cube to recreate the metals for the sake of repurposing."

"So how do the vendors work?" Liz asked.

"Just like the healing spells involve the transfer of signal, when you purchase something from a vendor, the program for that weapon is transferred to your cor cubes, enabling you to summon it at will."

That made the blacksmith perk up, "So we could theoretically change out weapons in the middle of battle."

Yui nodded, "All you have to do is think it and the cor cube will adjust its projection."

"Awesome," the pink-haired girl had stars in her eyes. "I'm saved…"

Kazuto shook his head with a smile. "Let's go over the map and divvy up who goes where."

After he'd delegated five of the seven dungeons, and made sure everyone's phones worked, he headed out to the smaller of his two locations: Uhoin Temple. He'd taken a liking to the creation of that particular cor cube: Poet and novelist Saisei Muro. He was taken in by the temple priest at a young age, one of many who found refuge there. A stone monument erected in 1827, a known period of severe famine in the area, invited people to leave their children with the temple, assuring that they would be cared for. With the help of local historians, Kazuto had recreated the famine survivor and later success story. Kazuto had looked forward to allowing Yui to meet with the poet and ask him questions about his life.

Kazuto began to cross Saigawa Ohashi Bridge and when he was about halfway across he stopped. "I know you're out there. You may as well come out." His detection skill was recreated by a subtle buzzing or humming on the edge of his mind. He watched as three samurai came out from in front of him and three more blocked his escape.

One of the samurai in front of him took point ahead of his two comrades. "A price has been put on your head, _Ronin_."

"Is that so? And whose head would that be? Kirito's perhaps?" he played along, already planning his attack pattern. They had to be the advance party. Whoever crossed this bridge would have an encounter, claiming there was a bounty for them, and head to Uhoin Temple to clear their name. An interesting approach.

"No! The head of one Kazuto Kirigaya!"

Kazuto gasped and his mind went blank when five warriors, minus the leader, rushed him from either side. Snapping back to reality Kazuto unsheathed his swords. _Deadly sins!_ He allowed his muscle memory to take over and slashed repeatedly, breaking the masks of each samurai as quickly as he could. The skill was a seven hit strike so he was allowed to miss a couple times. At the end of the assault he leapt backwards high into the air and watched as the forms of the five samurai shattered.

All that was left was the leader. "Impressive, Ronin," he commented.

Kazuto glared at his opponent. "How do you know my name?"

"Does it matter? You are a threat and our master will send you to the Underworld one way or another." The leader held his sword flat and high over his right shoulder. Pushing off his left foot he came straight on against Kazuto.

Kazuto jumped and twisted midair over the thrust. As he came back upside down he thought of the skill's name with his eyes closed and slashed once right to left then left to right immediately afterward. The samurai's mask split in two as the black swordsman landed calmly in a crouch.

"You cannot escape death…" were the samurai's last words before his cor cube exploded.

Kazuto tried not to let the encounter get to him. Instead he crossed the bridge and arrived at Uhoin Temple. When he arrived he looked around for the quest giver and yet there was no one there. Trying the front gates of the temple, which were closed, he found they were locked as well. _How are we supposed to get in? Is Shinji using quests anyways?_ Yet to do otherwise wouldn't make any sense. As much fun as regular dungeons were, one usually had a purpose for going inside.

Quests consisted of various goals such as slaying a particular monster, gathering a particular item from harvest points (Kazuto's least favorite), or collecting drops from a multitude of monsters. Then again, Yui had mentioned drops would be difficult with the cor cubes destroyed. _Maybe we just have to go in, clear the dungeon, and destroy the cor cube? Could that be all there is to it?_

His current mission being to only observe the potential dungeon, he made a note that it was near the Saigawa River and turned around to head to his second location. This one promised to be the hardest basically because it was the largest potential dungeon in Kanazawa: Kanazawa Castle. Kazuto expected the monsters there to be of higher level than the other temples and didn't want to risk his friends to such danger.

The castle entrance was to the northeast and when Kazuto got there the front gate was closed and four samurai stood guard. Frowning, Kazuto got closer by hiding behind trees. He didn't see anything else of note so he was going to confront them and see if they said anything strange like those on the bridge had.

Right as he was about to come out of hiding, someone grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him backwards. He jumped when he saw Asuna there glaring at him. "A-Asuna! What are you going here?"

The look she gave him reminded him of that special dinner in her home with the S-class ingredient. She looked like she was going to cut him up and serve him as a side dish. "I finished scouting out my temple and figured you'd come here last. You took this place because you didn't want any of us near what's probably the most dangerous dungeon, right? Tell me I'm wrong!"

He looked away, unable to lie to her face. "Maybe…" Hoping to change the subject he asked, "So what did you find out?"

"It looked like a regular old dungeon, probably water themed based on the glyphs. A few monsters outside but they were mid level at best." She turned towards the entrance. "You think those are the quest givers?"

 _Nothing gets by her._ "Maybe. Only…" he hesitated.

"Only?"

But he shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go see what they have to say." He walked over with Asuna and made sure the samurai could see him from a distance so he didn't catch them off guard. "We're not here to start a fight. We're just travelers passing through," he said in hopes of triggering the quest and not giving away his identity. "Is everything all right? Is there a reason Kanazawa Castle is locked down?"

Yet upon seeing him the four samurai simply unsheathed their weapons and charged. Kazuto and Asuna each took two and their opponents were quickly defeated.

Asuna put her rapier away. "Well that didn't get us anywhere."

 _I didn't even say anything but it was almost like they recognized me. How is that possible?_ He supposed they could be programmed to trigger only as long as he was part of the party which figured into Shinji's plot for revenge. Kazuto would be the main target. _But something about all this seems off somehow. I just can't put my finger on it._

"Kazuto?" Asuna asked. "You're quiet. Tell me what you're thinking."

Kazuto blinked. "Oh it's nothing. Just…"

"Oh please help!" an old woman came rushing up from the direction of the Kenrokuen Garden nearby to the east. She was crying and held up her arms to Asuna. "They've taken them! Nanami and Takashi! My dear grandchildren! The samurai took them into the castle!" she was frantic and gripping onto Asuna with fervor. "Please, you defeated the samurai so easily! Please save them!"

Asuna blinked in confusion. "Is this the quest then?"

Kazuto shrugged. "I guess so. If we assume the monsters inside as the same level as the samurai then we can handle this dungeon as we are. Let's head back to the house and…"

"No, you can't leave! Please, you have to help me!" the woman tried again.

For an AI she wasn't being very flexible. "Ma'am we have to regroup and prepare for a raid."

"They're only six and four years old! I brought them here from nearby Kyoto where we live so I could show them their heritage and our people's history! Now some crazy samurai have taken them from me!"

Asuna blinked. "Wait, you live in Kyoto? You're not part of the game?"

"What game!? We were in the gardens waiting for some inventor's new tour guides to launch but on our way home people started screaming and running. I got separated from my grandchildren and the last time I saw them they were being taken into this castle!"

Kazuto's heart sank. He reached forward and felt the woman's tears. They were wet and didn't disappear when he stepped back. "She's not a quest giver." Asuna gasped while Kazuto ripped out his cell phone. "Get everyone down here to Kanazawa Castle's front gate, now! We have an emergency!"

It took some time to get everyone gathered but it took an equally long amount of time to calm the old woman down. Asuna brought her water and eventually she was quiet again.

"I know the monsters were attacking people," Liz commented. "But to go so far as kidnapping?"

Kazuto kept quiet. He had other theories in mind. He brought the group over to a tourist map that showed the inside of Kanazawa Castle. "If they were taken anywhere it's gotta be Hishi Yagura – the Watch Tower. It's five stories tall and the last floor as only one exit or entrance."

Agil regarded the map carefully. "Okay so we go this way, following this path. It's not direct but it'll give us a good enough idea of the monsters stationed above before we go inside the actual castle."

Kazuto turned to face everyone. "This won't be your regular mission. These samurai aren't programmed to hold back and their weapons _will_ hurt those children. Their safety is our priority, not the boss."

"Kazuto…" Asuna asked quietly. "You know who the boss is, don't you?"

Kazuto nodded solemnly. "Oda Nobunaga: most feared warlord in Japan." Something about the name just instilled fear but the swordsman tried to shake it off. "Agil, Liz, take down that gate."

Liz tapped her new mace (acquired after doing a bit of grinding earlier) making it disappear before she silently summoned her hammer. It appeared before her and with a grin she and Agil went to town against the thick wooden beams.

When the gate splintered, the group went in, and Kazuto brought up the rear. When something caught his sleeve he looked back to see the old woman looking evenly at him. "I didn't say this before but I heard the samurai at the gate talking earlier. They're looking to draw out some person name Kazuto. I don't know if that's you or not but if it is be careful. A samurai's loyalty to their master is infallible. They will fight to their death gladly if it means glory to Nobunaga."

Kazuto said nothing, only nodded, before he ran after his group already fighting on the inside. Though he had done innumerable amounts of dungeons before, he knew before he entered that this dungeon would be unlike any he'd fought before.


	5. Surreal Reality

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Author's Note: I apologize to the readers for any issues regarding changes in Point of View. In my original documents, there are spaces between paragraphs to aid in POV shifts as well as any time elapses. I was not aware these did not transfer over and have since made changes both to this chapter as well as past chapters.

Please enjoy!

Chapter Five: Surreal Reality

KAZUTO

As soon as Kazuto entered the main gate of Kanazawa Castle the skies darkened and daytime sunlight turning into midnight darkness. The chirping of crickets ensued and even the hooting of owls sounded. Kazuto didn't have much time to linger because ahead his party was battling more samurai on the front lawn. When Kazuto approached and took out his swords, he could see the focus change in the enemy's eyes and unengaged warriors turned on him.

Agil noticed it first and changed his stance to bisect the distance between the squad and their leader. "They're targeting Kazuto!"

Klein cursed and dispatched of another samurai. "How is that even possible!? He hasn't been fighting yet to gain agro!"

Kazuto cursed and jumped into the fray, taking on the three samurai who thought they had the skills to end him. He proved them wrong. When they were finished he sighed and returned his blades to his back. "I was afraid of this."

"What's going on?" Azuna asked. "Why would they be after you?"

"Somehow the samurai have been given orders by the boss to come after me. It doesn't seem they want to capture either." Kazuto withheld the information that the samurai were after _Kazuto_ and not _Kirito._ That part still didn't make sense. "But that gives us an advantage. If they're focused on me then they'll leave themselves open from the side."

"Well yeah but wouldn't Agil make for a better tank?" Liz suggested. When Agil gave her a look she shrugged with wide eyes. "What? You're the biggest of us so without stats you make the most sense to take the hits."

"That doesn't mean I want to!" he argued.

"One could argue he's the slowest and less likely to dodge," Sinon added. "I don't think it's fair to serve him up as cannon fodder."

Now Agil sighed in defeat. "So I'm big and slow now. That's cold."

Kazuto led the way to the doors leading into the L–shaped watch tower. He took a round about path coming in from the north in order to assess the watch tower. In his peripherals he saw monsters wandering around what would normally be considered their general spawn points. Now, he wasn't sure what to expect so he hoped they didn't agro with anything other than proximity or sight.

Trying the front doors, he frowned when he noticed they were locked.

Klein said it before he could, "Do we need to find a key or something?"

"But that doesn't make any sense," Asuna pointed out. "I thought Yui mentioned there couldn't be drops."

"It might work, I suppose, if the cor cube's only projected purpose is the key," Kazuto hypothesized.

"I guess we start looking." Agil hefted his ax.

"Hang on," Sinon called the group's attention. "There's a note here." She pointed to a piece of paper that had been nailed to the front door. "One does not just become strong but simply devotes more time to acknowledging and eliminating their weaknesses."

"That doesn't make much sense!" Klein whined.

Sinon held her chin in thought and looked up at the mighty watch tower before them. "Kanazawa Castle has always been viewed as strong, right? So maybe that's what the clue is referring to?"

Liz scratched her head. "Then what would be a castle's weaknesses?"

Kazuto got an idea and looked to his left. "Any path or opening an enemy can use to lay siege against a castle is viewed as a weakness. Kanazawa had three smaller watch towers erected, aside from Hishi Yagura, to thwart attack. All that remains now are the bottom three layers of their bases. The key must be at one of those."

"Alright! Let's go!" Asuna turned south and started down the path towards the watch towers. There was a pond on the right hand side that they passed and as they got closer a baby's wailing could be heard. "What is that?"

"Not someone else that's been taken, right?" Liz asked with worry. "I mean, a baby?"

Kazuto pursed his lips. "We leave nothing to chance." The group went closer to the water and sure enough saw a swaddled baby crying next to the water's edge.

"Oh kami!" Asuna rushed forward and that's when Kazuto's senses went off.

"No! Asuna, wait!" Kazuto rushed forward and wrapped one arm around Asuna's waist but slipped in the pond silt and both went down in the muck. He raised his sword just in time to block a blue-tinted hand with black claws that emerged with lightning speed out of the swaddled mass. The crying turned into gurgled laughter as the bundled cloth lifted into the air, becoming the mutated form of an infant child. It barely retained its child-like facial features but long blue arms, easily three times the side of the child came out on the sides and the cloth grew to twice its size, looking like a hospital gown.

"What _is_ that!?" Asuna gasped, leaping back with Kazuto to a safe distance.

"A kawaakago," Sinon released three arrows into the mosnter's body but none did any damage. "A river spirit that draws in unsuspecting good Samaritans by, as you saw, pretending to be an innocent child."

In battle mode, Kazuto took out his swords. "It might have a water affinity. Does anyone have any fire abilities?"

"I can enchant arrows with the elements," Sinon replied. "But I've only been successful with wind to increase speed and accuracy."

"I have a fire strike," Klein activated his spell and his blade lit up with the powerful element.

"Okay, Klein's our DPS. The rest of us create the distraction. We have to find where the cor cube is projecting from!" Kazuto ordered. "Asuna, you stay back to heal."

"Right!" replied his wife.

It was easy, with the monster's true form revealed, to fight without bias. Most of their attacks went through the white cloth so Kazuto aimed for the arms first. He struck one and caused damage but he didn't severe it. The creature cried out and knocked him aside with the other giant arm. He went flying across the pond and through the wooden wall to the restrooms. His armor absorbed some of the impact and he slowly got to his feet.

"Kazuto!" he heard Agil shouted. "I think I found the cor cube! I saw it when it struck you! It's on the back of its left hand! There's a red jewel of some kind."

"Good work!" Kazuto shouted. "Klein!"

Klein ran forward and leapt up, coming down with his fire sword to bisect the jewel in question. The kawaakago let out one more wail and shattered.

Kazuto winced as he got up and could feel bruising on the inside of his chest. "Wasn't that fun?" Asuna came rushing over but he waved her off. "I'll be fine. Let's just find that key."

Behind the restroom the road split between one path that led to Inui Yagura and the other two watch towers. "Let's split up," Kazuto suggested. "We don't have the luxury of being overly cautious. There are two little children scared out of their minds right now."

Everyone agreed and broke up into two groups. Kazuto took Sinon and Klein while he sent Asuna off with Agil and Liz. He chose to head west towards the single watch tower. He figured if the key wasn't there then they would cut back down through Hommaruenchi Park to the south.

 _Be safe, Asuna…_

ASUNA

Agil took point while Liz and Asuna moved slowly right behind him. The girls of the group were definitely against the prospect of ghosts. As they were moving, Asuna felt something grab onto her leg and she squealed, reaching out for Liz's arm. "Something's got me! It's got me!"

Liz screamed and tried pulling away. "What!? What has you!?" She looked down and saw wooden stick hands that looked like fingers protruding from the ground. They wrapped around Asuna's ankle and refused to let go. "A-A-Ashimagari!" Liz lifted her mace and brought it fearfully down upon the hand.

"Liz!" Asuna leapt back just as the blacksmith's weapon came down dangerously close to her skin. The hand easily shattered and both girls were left shaking. "T-that was close…"

"Too close…" Liz agreed. When they turned back around towards the front, Agil was nowhere to be found. "A-Agil?" No answer. "Agil?"

"Oh no, we got separated even more…" Asuna looked around worriedly.

Then large hands came up from behind the girls and dropped down onto their shoulders. The girls froze with goose bumps and swung behind them with their eyes closed. "Hey hey hey! Stop it! It's just me!" Agil fell backwards onto his butt, barely avoiding the aimless thrusts which landed between his knees. "You could've killed me!"

"Sorry…" Asuna laughed nervously. "Guess we're a bit on edge."

Agil got to his feet and sighed. "I just checked the first tower which is just beyond this line of bushes. There's nothing there."

"So let's head to the second one." Liz allowed Agil to take point once more.

While they were walking, Asuna took notice of little colored balls of fire that floated around but none of which seemed to agro with their presence. "Hitodama?" she wondered aloud.

"B-but they're not real, right?" Liz added. Hitodama were supposed to be floating souls of those who had departed and not left this plane of existence.

"Of course not," Agil insisted. "It's just set up that way to scare you." He froze suddenly and pushed both girls back away from him. "Look out!" A woman's malicious laughter rang out and a thick torrential rain appeared out of nowhere _just_ over Agil's head. "A sense an attack coming…"

Asuna stood with a frown, Liz at her side, and looked around for the culprit. "A monster that makes rain?"

"An Ameonna, to be exact," Liz specified. "Mostly harmless except…" a new flood opened in the sky directly above Liz's head and she was instantly soaked. "She likes to make rain." The attack continued for a few minutes and eventually stopped. Shaking off the excess water, the group continued on…

KAZUTO

Kazuto's group walked the short distance to their watch tower and the leader paused. "Maybe I shouldn't have split up. We could've checked this one quickly and moved on."

Klein snorted and rested the blunt side of his blade on his neck. "Then let's see if the key's here and go over to meet up with them." He leapt up the first two levels of the watch tower's base when Sinon gasped.

"Klein! No wait!" The archer released an arrow just as he turned around. He saw the motion and dove down quickly.

"What do you think you're doing!" he exclaimed. "It's me!" but a second later, another attack swished over his head from behind. Had he not ducked down early he wouldn't have seen it. Turning around he saw a massive shadow covering not only his form but that of most of the water tower.

"Klein! Get out of there!" Kazuto took out his swords and grit his teeth as he saw the giant monster appear. It easily rose to the height of the tower base itself, about three stories tall. It was a skeleton with pieces of flesh and cloth dangling from various bones. Its name was Gaikotsu and it was the embodiment of all the sorrow and hatred of the unburied dead. "Sinon, call the others! We're not going to be able to handle this alone!"

Sinon made the call and her eyes went wide. "They're under attack too! Five goryo came out from the woods! Neither of their towers had the key!"

"Then tell them to bring their pulls here. We'll figure it out as a team!" Kazuto used the skeleton's arm the next time he swiped as a spring board and aimed a strike at the skull. He looked for any abnormal points that could be the cor cube but nothing jumped out at him.

A few minutes passed when Kazuto saw their friends emerge from the trees. "Kazuto!" Asuna called out, trying to keep ahead of their enemies. Five figures floated off the ground in pursuit of them. They varied in appearance but they were mostly transparent with no legs.

Kazuto took a split second to come up with a plan. "Klein and Liz: you handle the adds! The rest of us need to find big, bad, and ugly's weakness. Sinon, take shots against either enemy you see an opening!"

Everyone shouted out their acknowledgments. Klein's fire worked wonders against the Goryo, as Kazuto thought, and Liz was there with her hammer to land the finishing blow. By the time they were done with the adds, Kazuto's group still hadn't found the Gaikotsu's weakness. There was only one spot they hadn't tried. "Sinon, watch me. When you get the shot, take it!"

He signaled Klein and the two leapt up to the monster's overly enlarged jawbone. "Agil, Liz, restrain the arms for ten seconds!" When they moved forth to do that, he and Klein took positions on either side of the mouth, using their bodies to hold open the mouth. Inside was pitch black and a smell escaped that threatened to make them pass out.

"I see it!" Sinon pulled back her bow and released a shining arrow. It flew between each boy, with the space of a foot to spare. It pierced the cor cube in the back of its mouth.

It shattered and Kazuto landed safely on the floor. He looked at Agil and Liz strangely when he noticed they were soaking wet. "What happened to you?"

"Don't ask," Agil replaced his ax to his back.

Asuna walked forward when she noticed a chest had appeared at the base of the watch tower. Inside she found a key. "Let's move on."

Back at the entrance, they opened the door with the key. Everyone went inside while Kazuto stared at the key still in his hand. _This isn't a cor cube. This is the actual key. So then how did it end up inside that chest? Something isn't adding up here. I just can't see what it is…_

Inside the watch tower, large wooden beams decorated mostly bare wooden walkways. The group encountered more samurai which appeared in squads of five or six like before, sometimes with leaders such as lieutenants and captains. They cleared the first two floors with ease and come upon the third floor. There, another group of samurai were waiting for them. They numbered five, four with their leader. They stood in formation, weapons at the ready.

"Kazuto Kirigaya, I challenge you to a duel," replied the leader.

Asuna frowned and turned to her husband. "How do they know your name?"

Instead of answering, Kazuto moved forward and unsheathed one sword. "I'm going to ask you a question and I'm only going to ask it once: Did you kidnap two innocent children to draw me here?"

The samurai leader only wore a half mask covering everything above the nose and he sneered at Kazuto. "We will do what we must for our great leader Oba Nobunaga."

"I see." Kazuto's grip tightened on his swords. "Then I won't waste my time here." Where normally he would happily accept a one-on-one challenge now he attacked without warning and without sound. He disappeared one moment and reappeared behind the samurai's formation. His swords were a blur and in five strikes each samurai shattered. "Let's go."

The group said nothing. They all understood his feelings. They made their way up to the fourth floor and had many more run ins with enemies out for only Kazuto. When the enemy appeared, Kazuto's group took the fight to them and wouldn't let anyone near their leader. The final room lay behind two large rice paper walls.

When they approached, two geisha servants placed on either side of the door knelt down and opened the panels. Inside the room was lavishly decorated and a throne had been erected in the back center of the clearing. Kazuto recognized those geisha. He had created them as entertainers and even watched them the night of the launch. They looked so sad and miserable now. _Come to think of it, the samurai we've run into are the same design as the ones I made. So Shinji thought he'd save time and simply hack my cor cubes to repurpose them, keeping their forms for this particular dungeon._ That was partially a good thing for Kazuto because he already knew where Nobunaga's cor cube was. It lay in the center of his chest plate.

Kazuto moved forward slowly, the rest of the group hanging back a bit. "You wanted me. Now you got me." He glared at the warlord. "Release the children."

Oda Nobunaga, looking as intimidating as Kazuto had designed, regarded him with intrigue. He wore the thick black colored samurai armor with a red colored cape. His helmet sat on a dais next to his seat. He rested his chin on his fist and smirked. "Kazuto Kirigaya, the Black Swordsman…"

"How do you know about me?"

Instead of answering, Oda Nobunaga drank sake from a shallow cup in his other hand. Kazuto saw the red symbol, representing the cor cube, still on his chest. "This world is strange and the quality of the sake is below even what I allowed my commoners to drink. The years have passed and it seems the world has forgotten to fear the name Oda clan."

"I haven't," Liz muttered.

Kazuto narrowed his eyes. "What year do you think it is?"

"Over four hundred years have passed since I committed seppuku. It seems the Underworld was not ready for me."

Kazuto's eyes went wide. His version of the warlord would have believed he was still alive at the height of his power back in the 16th century. This Nobunaga knew he was in the new millennium. "Who told you all of this?" Kazuto tried again.

"Does it matter? You are the one who stands between me and true freedom." One instant the warlord was sitting on his throne, the next Kazuto was barely able to block a strike set to decapitate him.

"Kazuto!" Asuna and company rushed forward to help when more samurai came flooding in from hidden rooms on the sides.

The sheer amount of force put against him by the warlord took all of Kazuto's strength to counter. "Deal with the adds! Don't engage Nobunaga!"

"A wise choice…" Nobunaga said through gritted teeth. "I will dispatch of you and reclaim this world as my own."

"The world is a lot bigger than you remember," Kazuto finally let go of the pressure and leaned back to avoid the blow. He spun around and tried to trip his opponent but Nobunaga simply jumped over the attack and came down again with an overhead swing. Kazuto fell to one knee and in a lightning flash move lifted his other sword to do a cross block. The extra weapon gave him enough strength to eventually push back against Nobunaga and slowly lift back to his feet.

"Dual wielding…perhaps you will be a worthy opponent after all." Nobunaga and Kazuto exchanged strikes with more and more speed each time. Kazuto hadn't sustained any injuries yet but his successful blocks were getting a hair of a second slower and slower.

 _I can't beat him this way. Even knowing where the cor cube is his defense is incredible. I have to tilt the odds in my favor somehow._ Kazuto could think of only one aspect of the ancient warlord that he could monopolize and take advantage of. If it didn't work, Kazuto would most likely lose this battle. Casting his lot he said, "I am Kazuto, descendant of Akechi Mitsuhide. I will do what my ancestor did long ago and end your tyranny here and now!"

Kazuto knew he had been successful when something snapped in Nobunaga's eyes. The warlord had been rumored to be mentally unstable, especially at the funeral of his own father. By claiming to be the descendant of the man who betrayed Nobunaga and caused the warlord to kill himself rather than be taken alive, he'd created instability within the warrior.

Nobunaga let out a roar and attacked with just as much strength but now his sword strikes were wild and easy to read. Kazuto took control of the fight and pressed Nobunaga back towards his throne. _Starburst Stream!_ "Ahhhh!" Beaten back by the powerful 16-hit combo, the warlord's leg hit the platform and Nobunaga began to fall backwards. Kazuto ended his combo by adding a powerful thrust right into the cor cube. "Return to the underworld and _never_ return." Kazuto turned his back towards his enemy, flicked his blades, and returned them into his back sheaths just as Nobunaga's image shattered.

Asuna and the others had finished with the samurai while Liz and Sinon came out of the side rooms where the two children cried from fear and relief.

Sinon cradled the little girl and held her close. "There, there. Your grandmother is just outside. You'll be together soon."

Kazuto inspected the room and behind Nobunaga's throne was a huge, delicately painted fan. He heard a slight humming and quickly cut through the wall decoration. The cor cube sputtered and died, the humming disappearing along with it.

Asuna came up behind him. "Was that the cor cube projecting part of the shield?"

"Yeah, I'm guessing. I suppose he's found a way to network the cor cubes so that they work together, sharing processing power. It explains why he's able to create such a large force field. If we're lucky maybe we'll be able to break the force field by destroying enough cor cubes instead of having to break all of them but I doubt it'll be that easy."

Asuna pulled Kazuto towards him and rested her forehead against his. "Either way we're one step closer thanks to you."

Back outside, once the family was reunited, Kazuto had Agil and Sinon escort the three out to the nearest safe house. Kazuto kept quiet the entire way back, his mind a whirlwind of questions. The evidence all pointed to one fact. _Gods help us if it turns out to be true._

"I'm wondering if we can transfer skills the way I received Mother's Rosario," Asuna commented. "I think if we were to split up again, it would be more effective to have two healers."

Klein pointed to Sinon. "She usually hangs back anyway, why not teach her?"

Kazuto nodded. "It's something to look into." Though he was tired, they still had to combine all of the information they'd gathered about the individual dungeons. With a red marker, Kazuto crossed out the circle representing Kanazawa Castle. He waited until their last members returned and compiled the new information. A couple of the dungeons couldn't be accessed and still others that didn't have quest givers.

"This one here had a father and his son waiting outside the dungeon," Klein reported. "The father said his son was poisoned and had most of the ingredients for the antidote aside from some plant that grew inside the dungeon. He was pretty hysterical."

Liz pointed to another one. "This one claims his wife was taken hostage and is being held captive within. If there's an elemental theme, I think that one's ice. It was so cold just in the area surrounding the dungeon."

Kazuto wrote down what they told him and kept coming back to the boy and his son. _Is it possible the father's emotions were that hysterical not because they were programmed that way but because his actual child is dying in his arms?_

Asuna looked at Kazuto. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"We can't handle another dungeon right now." Kazuto shook his head. "We're all tired and if we tried another raid, we might get in over our heads."

"But if that little boy only has so long left…" Asuna's eyes watered. "Isn't there any way to check and verify it's not real?"

Sinon stood up. "I can get there and talk to the father again. If he simply repeats what he said before then we can assume it's a program, right?"

Klein sighed and stood up. "If that's the plan then you'll need me to go, too. Only I knew what the father said the first time."

Kazuto hesitated, but he was mentally exhausted. "Okay, fine. Go and talk to the father and then come back here. If it ends up being true, we'll still need to come up with a strategy."

Klein smirked at Sinon. "Maybe I can help you get a skill for fire arrows figured out."

Sinon nodded. "Thank you. I think I'll take you up on that offer."

His group split up around the house, everyone doing what they wanted to decompress from the day's events. Kazuto himself went into his office to get onto his computer. Yui curled up into his lap and fell asleep against his chest. He stroked her hair absentmindedly with one hand while he worked on his computer with the other. He added the new information on the dungeons to rebuild his Journea map of Kanazawa. The supposed ice dungeon even showed on his map as having sub-freezing temperatures. He programmed in which monsters spawned where as well as their relative strengths.

 _The samurai I ran into on the bridge were too far away from their dungeon. Then again Shinji could've easily taken away their parameter restrictions._ To prevent conflicts, Kazuto had programmed each cor cube to remain near a set focal point. With Yui's help he had been able to create little red dots signifying monsters spawned within the force field.

Someone came up behind him and began kneading his shoulders. He winced at first but as the knots loosened he fell into limbo and his head slumped forward. "I'm going to record you purring one of these days," Asuna said gently.

"Don't do that…" he moaned. "That's blackmail." She continued from his neck to his shoulders and down his back. Kazuto leaned more and more forward until he threatened to drop Yui from his lap. Catching her form before she could fall, Kazuto snapped awake and held her closer against him. "Maybe it's time to put her to bed."  
"For _both_ of you," Asuna added.

Kazuto stood up and handed Yui to her mother. "Did they come back yet?"

Asuna nodded. "The father said the same thing so they returned and we're going to raid it tomorrow."

"All right…" he followed them into his bedroom and collapsed into the sheets. He felt his muscles ache all over, that battle with Nobunaga having obvious extended side effects. His ribs from the pond monster didn't feel any better. "Tomorrow then…" He felt Asuna tuck him and little Yui in then kiss him on the forehead. He had many worries but for now they had survived one more day.

To Be Continued


	6. Poisonous Relationships

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Author's Note: Just another reminder that gamer tags (Liz, Klein, Agil, ect) have been changed to reflect their actual names. This isn't a game anymore…it's reality. Sorry for the confusion.

Chapter Six: Poisonous Relationships

KAZUTO

Kazuto tossed and turned and eventually woke up long before the sun. He looked over at his nightstand. The clock read 2:15am. Making sure he was extra quiet, he removed himself from the bed and got dressed. As he pulled on his pants he was reminded back when he was first released from the hospital after the SAO incident. It took weeks for him to learn to dress himself again. It's simple but for two years dressing and undressing happened at the push of a button. He laughed now, looking back at it, because it was months longer that he didn't attempt to open his menu by swiping his hand vertically in front of him.

He left the bedroom and went next door to his office. He sat in his chair and leaned back with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Papa, is everything okay?" Yui's voice squeaked from the doorway.

Kazuto jumped and forced a smile for his daughter. "Yui, I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

She shook her head and came over to look worriedly at him. "You should know better than anyone that I don't actually need sleep to regenerate my cor cube."

He grinned wider now and pulled her into his lap. "Maybe but you were out pretty deep in my lap yesterday."

She blushed and looked away. "I just love Papa's warmth. It's comforting." She met his eyes and Kazuto felt like she was looking through him.

"What is it, Yui?"

"You didn't sleep very well, did you?"

He scratched his head and tried to play it off. "I just have a lot on my mind. We have another raid today and if the quest involves poison, we can assume the status effect is possible inside for us. I have to be prepared for that."

"Then Mama simply uses her antidote spell," Yui replied simply.

"But we don't know if that'll actually work."

"The status effect Poison simply recreates the symptoms brought on by poisoning: dizziness, nausea…"

"Don't forget difficulty breathing."

Yui patted him on the head gently. "But as soon as Mama uses "Antidote", her nanomachines transmit the signal to the other person's nanomachines and get them to stop creating those symptoms."

"Yes but if someone gets poisoned during a battle, they could be injured badly."

Yui tapped her lips. "Potions would be the most effective to ensure each person can heal themselves individually and thus avoid injury. Since we don't have potions, I suppose the next viable precaution would be to create accessories with anti-poison wards."

Kazuto blinked in surprise. "Can we do that?"

"All the accessory would have to do is block the type of signal responsible for causing the nanomachines to inflict Poison. Even if they are bit or otherwise injured, the poison status effect wouldn't be incurred."

"That's genius!" He hugged her and got to work on his laptop.

Yui looked flatly at him. "But that's not what's causing you to lose sleep, is it?"

Kazuto stopped and looked at her, once again reminded she wasn't actually a little girl. He got up and closed the door, speaking to her in low tones. "I have a theory but I'm going to need your help and I need you to keep it a secret from everyone else."

Her eyes went wide. "Even Mama?"

"For now. I don't want her to worry needlessly until I have solid proof."

Yui hesitated but eventually nodded. "Okay. How can I help?"

Kazuto knelt before her. "The cor cubes that were placed within us…do you think you can reprogram them? More specifically can you add new abilities?"

Yui thought about it. "I suppose it's possible. If Papa came up with the original data, it would be a simple feat to transfer the data wirelessly. What abilities do you need that you don't already have?"

"Sensory," he replied. "My detection skills served me well within SAO but they aren't as strong here."

"We could adjust the cor cubes to be able to pick up heat signatures even electromagnetic waves at a greater distance. Since Sinon has vision that zooms in it makes sense we could give you infrared vision to be able to see in darkness."

Kazuto clapped. "Now we're talking. Let's get to work."

ASUNA

The sun rose and Asuna awoke, surprised to find herself alone in bed. She threw on a robe and tried the office first. Sure enough she found her husband and daughter bent over the computer. "What are you guys up to this early?"

"Oh, don't worry, we haven't been up long." Kazuto stood up and walked over to her with a smile. He gave her a kiss and held up a necklace. "A gift." He placed it around her neck and the green colored jewel rested in the middle of her chest.

Confused, she regarded the new jewelry. "Thank you? Is this really the time for fancy presents?"

Yui held up a finger. "It's an anti-poison ward. Wearing it should prevent you from being able to be inflicted with poison!"

Asuna's eyes went wide. "How?"

"Don't worry about that. Let's just hope they work." Kazuto made five more in no time and brought them all downstairs where eventually everyone else found themselves after they awoke. "There's no guarantee these will work," he said as he passed them out. "It's an experiment. If the signal's strength that triggers Poison varies depending on the amount of damage then it may be more than the ward can block. We're just not sure."

Asuna put a hand to her chest. "If anyone does get poisoned, I'll cast antidote on them immediately."

Kazuto held up a finger. "About that. I'm going to need you to teach Sinon, or transfer the spell, for your basic healing spells and antidote."

When Asuna opened up her mouth, Yui piped up. "I can help you with that, Mama!"

Asuna had to smile at her daughter. "Thank you." Kazuto went over a few things about the dungeon, commenting that given a large mountain had been erected in an otherwise open field, it was safe to assume it was an earth-themed dungeon. Thus fire and wind-based weapon skills would be most helpful. As he talked, Asuna could tell he had something else on his mind. He was distracted even though he was trying to appear focused. _He's hiding something._

She confirmed her suspicions when she noticed him making his way to the front door while everyone made preparations. "Kazuto?"

He turned to face her. "Don't worry. I'm not going far. I was going to check out the vendor nearby and see if they have anything better than what we have. We made good money in the first dungeon and our starting gear may not be strong enough for the next one."

"You shouldn't go alone," she said. "It's not safe."

"I'll be fine." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked out.

When he later returned he commented the vendor had better gear but the prices weren't good enough for the quality. The vendor had told him to try again later which suggested their inventory changed based on their progress of the dungeons.

What Asuna didn't tell him is that while he was gone, she'd checked her phone to see where he was and his player's dot wasn't anywhere on the map. Somehow he'd figured out how to conceal himself and become invisible to the party. _Maybe it's not us he's trying to hide from…_

RIKA

Rika stood before the massive rock dungeon that was covered in moss and plants and inside she was trembling. _I hate earth themed dungeons. They usually have the one thing I cannot stand. Hopefully I won't have to deal with…them._

"Okay everyone, Ryoutarou reported the inside tunnels got small in sections with larger cavernous pockets, similar to an ant colony, so let's travel in a straight line and keep your eyes about!"

 _Ants…why'd he have to mention ants._ Considering the close quarters, Rika equipped her spiked mace as well as a small buckler. She was surprised when Kazuto offered to take up the rear. Andrew took point, followed by Asuna, Ryoutarou, Sinon, then Rika. _I wonder what he thinks will come at us from behind?_

The first cavern was very large and in the center of the dungeon with several other tunnels branching out from it. One of those tunnels probably led to the subsequent levels above.

"Heads up!" Andrew shouted. "Here they come!"

Rika swallowed hard and withheld a scream. Ants and beetles the size of horses came out to greet them. Everyone leapt into the fray while Rika stood there frozen. _I_ _really_ _hate dungeons like this!_ One of the ants caught sight of the lone girl and finally letting out a war cry Rika batted aside the ant's mandibles, knocking it back with an upwards swing of her mace. Dazed, the ant staggered and Rika took the opportunity to leap high into the air, coming down with her mace on the top of the bug's head. It shattered and she rushed onto the next gross insect.

"According to the map, most of the tunnels converge higher up," Kazuto looked at his phone. "We could split into two teams and make sure we cover all the grounds, get all the treasure."

"I'm not sure splitting up is a good idea, though," Andrew commented. "Technically we're underground. Our tracking information might not work."

"Hmm, that's true," Kazuto agreed. "Okay we'll check the south side then the north." He paused and looked over at one of the tunnels. After a moment he shook his head and returned his attention to the group. "Okay, same formation."

Rika noticed inside the caverns, light was provided by various glowing plants, moss, and fireflies but it was impossible to see too far away. What did Kazuto think he saw way down one of the tunnels? They chose a tunnel on the left and worked their way deeper into the dungeon. Thankfully it seemed most of the fights they came across were in the caverns where they could swing their weapons instead of the tunnels where they would be picked off easily.

Rika shivered as caterpillars and silk worms attacked them. Rika didn't see one monster come up on her right and when she did notice it, the silk worm opened its mouth and shot out sticky threads that wrapped Rika up and yanked her off her feet. She couldn't cry out because her mouth was covered and her nose wasn't much better.

 _I can't breath! This is it. I'm going to die._ Her mind flashed and she remembered the time when she was little and had been playing with her friends at the park. She'd sat down on a log that she didn't know was rotted on the inside. It had collapsed under her meager weight and the inside was filled with bugs of every kind. They crawled all over her, got into her clothes and her hair, but her dress and les were tangled inside the log and she couldn't get out.

She hadn't been stuck very long before her parents came to get her. Her friends had been too afraid to help and run away to fetch them instead. She didn't blame them but the experience made her afraid of bugs of any kind. Now, a giant bug was going to suffocate her.

"Rika!" Asuna sliced open the threads around Rika's head and the blacksmith took in eager gulps of air. "Rika! Are you okay!? I'm so sorry!" Asuna's rapier flashed and the threads around Rika's body fell to the ground in scraps.

The rest of the party had finished the fighting but when Rika looked around for Kazuto he was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Kazuto?"

"Right here." He emerged from the tunnel they'd come down. "Sorry, I chased off a straggler."

Rika eyed him but said nothing. "Let's just get the cor cube destroyed and get out of here." For being so early in the day, Rika was done.

KAZUTO

Kazuto knew he was making the others suspicious so he tried to be more careful. They cleared the tunnels on the right but when they tried to backtrack, the tunnel became blocked by a mini cave-in. "It must be triggered that way so we're forced to go forward." His party exited through the only door which surprisingly led back outside. However, the path, or rather ledge, to the next door that lay on the north side of the dungeon was maybe 2-3 feet wide.

"Did I ever tell anyone I'm afraid of heights?" Ryoutarou mentioned. "Is there any chance we can destroy the cor cube from here instead?"

Kazuto shook his head. "It's probably projecting from inside the boss room, same as with Nobunaga. Besides, don't forget, we still need that plant for the antidote."

"Oh right…" Ryoutarou whined in despair and started out across the path.

Asuna moved slowly, reaching out for Kazuto when the wind blew against the mountain. "It's okay," Kazuto soothed. "I won't let you fall."

"You know this reminds me of being up in that birdcage. The view was amazing and yet I hated every minute of it," his wife said.

"This time we're together and if I've learned anything it's that there isn't anything we can't accomplish when we're together."

Asuna looked at him now and her eyes reflected nothing but sadness. "I hope that's true."

 _She knows…_ Kazuto thought. _She knows I'm hiding something._

Once they made it through the mountain trail and back inside, Rika looked relieved there were no more bug monsters around. "Finally…hey look!" She ran forward and picked up a plant that grew at the base of a pile of rocks. "We got the ingredient!"

Kazuto saw the movement behind her but by then Andrew was already rushing forward. "Rika, behind you!"

Rika turned around a second before Andrew yanked her out of the way from a large rocky fist that smashed the area she had just been standing in. The different sized rocks were held together by some unknown force but the towering golem roared menacingly in challenge.

"It's the sub-boss! Everyone, form up! Sinon stick to the rear! Asuna, you're our DPS!" Kazuto disliked golems mainly because they usually had a high defense to physical attacks. Asuna was their strongest magic user but they had to be careful since she was also their most competent healer. "The rest of us will give her as many openings as we can!"

Ryoutarou tried using fire but it didn't have any effect. Kazuto watched as one of Sinon's wind piercing arrows struck with significant damage. "Good work Sinon! Ryoutarou, hang back and protect Sinon! She's sure to draw agro from those blows!"

"Right!" the samurai deflected the boulders that the golem swung at Sinon in retaliation.

When the golem did that though, he left himself open so Asuna attacked with wind, water, and even ice spells. They seemed to hurt the golem so they repeated the actions. Kazuto, Andrew, and Rika made the openings, and Asuna did the damage.

"Kazuto!" Sinon shouted. "His eyes! There are two cor cubes!"

 _That makes sense. The cor cubes can only create so much solidarity from combining heat, water, and the atmosphere. To create a thicker, stronger image, such as a rock monster, combining two cor cubes would have that effect._ "Asuna, switch out!" Kazuto ran in when Asuna performed another spell and leapt back.

He lifted his two swords and performed a double thrust mid-air, piercing both eyes at the same time. The monster shattered and a last attack bonus was awarded. "Increased defense," Kazuto read on his phone. "I suppose that's possible with the cor cubes inside us. It makes our skin thicker to penetrate by creating a projected layer over our bodies. A shield." _If I had known about the last attack bonus, I should have had Asuna deliver the blow. Dammit…_

"Does anyone else think it's strange that we're looking for an antidote but we haven't run into any poisonous monsters?" Andrew brought up.

Rika came over and clamped her hands over his mouth. "Don't jinx it!"

Kazuto laughed, "Onwards and upwards." The group left out of the only exit back into the tunnels. Asuna was in front of Kazuto this time and when she took a step the ground gave way beneath her. Kazuto reached out and caught her hand but the suddenness of the move caused him to be off balance and he began to fall as well. He snapped his hand up and caught the edge of the pit. A loud hissing sounded and he knew without looking what was down there.

"Kazuto!" Asuna clung to him desperately.

"Whatever you do don't look down!" he pleaded with her.

"We've got you!" Andrew and Ryoutarou appeared and lifted Kazuto out of the pit, then helped pull Asuna.

"T-that was too close," Asuna sniffed. She punched Andrew in the arm. "I blame you!"

Kazuto looked down into the pit and sure enough there was hundreds of snakes hissing and snapping at the air below. "Once again, let's stay alert." The group walked around the pit and entered the next series of tunnels and caverns. The theme changed from giant bugs to snakes and living plants. Ryoutarou's fire became very important as well as Sinon's fire arrows.

"Look out!" Kazuto batted aside poisonous thorns that one of the large flowers shot out at Asuna's back. He sliced horizontally, breaking the cor cube in the stem, and destroying the plant. Rika let out a war cry and smashed snake after snake. They weren't exactly sure where the cor cubes were but with enough smashing, Rika usually found them. "Good work. We should be getting close to the boss's room by now."

The next tunnel they walked through led to the largest cavern of all and a lot of space usually spelled boss fight. The ground was moist with soil and the sides had thick vines and roots from unknown sources. The group heard the monster before they saw it. A loud hissing came to them from the back center of the room. Then large red slits set in yellow eyes opened and rose to a height of two stories.

"Uh, Rika, you're going to need a bigger hammer," Ryoutarou teased.

Rika gazed up in disbelief as the giant cobra unfurled its neck hood. "Seriously?"

Asuna held her rapier at Kazuto's side. "Kazuto, we get bit by that and we won't just be poisoned, we'll be impaled. Those fangs are three feet long easy."

"I know. We'll have to find a strategy that keeps us away from that mouth." Kazuto knew a snakes' greatest weapon, aside from its venom, was its speed. "Everyone, keep moving. Don't stop. Use the walls as much as you can to change direction but give the boss more than it can pay attention to at once."

"What about its weak spot?" Andrew asked aloud.

Kazuto narrowed his eyes. "That black mark on the center of his chest." When he got looks of confusion he added, "It looks as good of a spot as any." _Don't need them asking questions just yet._

"All right." Sinon notched an arrow. "Sounds like we've got a plan."

Asuna held her look on Kazuto a moment more then spun her sword. "Okay everyone. Break!" And at her word everyone leapt in different directions. The snake snapped at the air, missing its targets by just a hair. When one person had a chance to land a hit, they tried to strike the snake's neck but the boss had another weapon: its tail.

Ryoutarou got hit first, getting slammed into the far wall, he fell to the ground unconscious. Sinon, Andrew, and Rika were also knocked aside when the boss spun landing a physical AOE across the board. Asuna leapt over it and ran forward. Kazuto rushed to her side and his sword lit up with his prepared sword skill. "Aim for the mark as soon as I give you the opening."

"Right."

Kazuto looked that snake in the eye and when it struck he leapt up to meet it. He ran his sword through the roof of the snake's mouth, immobilizing it. It roared back in pain, opening its chest to Asuna's multi thrust attack. The cor cube was struck and the snake shattered. Kazuto came back to the ground and grinned. "Good work."

"Uh huh." Asuna looked flatly at him then went to work healing everyone's injuries.

Kazuto found the cor cube for the force field projection in the form of an emerald deity statue that looked like a snake. He destroyed it and a hole opened up in the back of the mountain. _Although if my sense of direction isn't off it will be the front of the mountain._ Walking up to the ledge, Kazuto saw a rope tied to a stake that went all the way back down to the entrance of the dungeon. "I know someone who isn't going to like this."

"Who isn't going to like what?" Ryoutarou came up after Asuna healed him. He looked down the ledge and his eyes went wide. "No, no way. Nuh uh. I am backtracking and going out the way we came."

Rika patted him on the shoulder. "That little boy needs this plant. We have to hurry." She held up the ingredient, getting Ryoutarou to groan. "You'll be fine." Shoving him just enough to get him to fall, Rika watched as he dropped off the ledge and immediately latched onto the rope.

"T-That wasn't funny, Rika!" he shouted in protest.

"Yeah yeah, look out! Coming down!" She went next and forced him slowly down the rope.

Kazuto laughed and waited until everyone went down then followed. He hesitated just long enough to make sure everyone got down first before he started down. If the line were to…break, or anything else happen to it, he would be the only one to fall.

At the bottom, Rika presented the plant to the father who wept out of joy. He quickly added it to a bowl in his hand then fed it to his son. Within minutes the son recovered and the father rushed him away to destinations unknown.

Everyone congratulated themselves and started home. It was Kazuto who once again stood behind and regarded the scene with severe criticism. He said nothing of his suspicions until they got home.

Re-entering his home, he saw everyone un-equipping their armor and weapons. It was Asuna who crossed her arms and looked at him with that same look. "So, are you going to tell us what the hell is going on, or what?"

"Asuna?" Rika questioned. "What are you talking about?"

Sinon pushed her glasses up her nose. "Well I, for one, have noticed a few things about all this don't quite add up." She looked at Kazuto now with the same look as Asuna. "That plant we got wasn't a cor cube, was it?"

"No, it wasn't," Kazuto confirmed.

Ryoutarou blinked. "I don't get it."

Andrew's eyes went wide. "It had to be a real plant because you can't combine a cor cube to make an antidote and feed it to someone. Otherwise we'd have potions we could use."

Rika gasped, "So then that father and boy…?"

"Real people. Hostages, if I had to take a guess." Kazuto tried to put the pieces together.

"I don't get it." Rika said. "You guys checked the father; he repeated the same thing like an AI would, right?"

"That's right," Sinon nodded. "If it was an actual person, wouldn't he have worded his plea differently?"

That was when Yui appeared at the top of the stairs. "Shinji has found a new way to use his nanomachines." She came down and looked up at her father. "If status effects can be issued using the nanomachines, it would be a simple feat to control the human body, make them say whatever Shinji wanted. The poison was probably real and the plant you gathered saved his life."

Ryoutarou had unshed tears in his eyes. "W-we…we left them, alone, for almost an entire day to come back here and rest. That father's been sitting outside that dungeon for how long? How? What about food and water? We found him in the exact same spot both times!" He raised his voice and Andrew came over to calm him down.

"Look, we couldn't have known," Andrew told him. "Shinji's changed the rules."

"Has he?" Asuna kept her eyes locked on Kazuto. "Or did someone else?"

Rika snapped her fingers. "He has someone on the inside!"

Sinon thought about it. "I suppose it makes sense."

Kazuto sighed and finally let the cat out of the bag. "I had my suspicions when the key we used to open that gate back at Kanazawa Castle turned out to be the actual key. No one who worked at the castle wouldn't have randomly placed it at the Inui Yagura site. That was too convenient. Then when Nobunaga had real world, _modern_ , knowledge…someone had to have told him that."

Asuna walked up to him. "So you knew about this individual, or group, was working against us and you thought they might be interfering with us clearing the game. I get that." Her hands clenched at her sides and the fists shook with emotion. "But if you thought they were out there, why did you go out looking for them on your own?"

Kazuto's eyes went wide and he was forced to look away. "I…"

Asuna's eyes brimmed with tears. "I know you well enough to know when you would go see a vendor and when you were out scouting for the enemy. What I don't understand is why you didn't tell me so that I could help you?"

"I wasn't sure there was anything to begin with," Kazuto lied. "I thought, or more like hoped, I was just jumping at shadows."

"No, you didn't tell me because some part of you is afraid to be in a party with lives that depend on you. You turn into the solo player you once were and think you can get by with doing things on your own." Asuna turned around and ran upstairs, slamming her bedroom door.

Rika and Sinon came up. "We'll go and try to calm her down."

Kazuto leaned back heavily against the doorframe and sighed. Andrew and Ryoutarou were there but neither said anything. "I'm sorry. Everything she said is true. You guys are here because of me. I didn't want to bring you into unnecessary danger."

"Yeah, we're here." Andrew replied. "And I, for one, and damn glad we are."

Kazuto blinked and looked up in surprise, "huh?"

Ryoutarou shook his head and forced a smile. "Do you know the hardest part about going our separate ways on the first floor was not being able to be by your side and making sure you were safe? If I had been at home and seen the news about Kanazawa suddenly blocked off from the world and I knew you and Asuna were in here to fight this alone…I would be wishing I was inside too, so I could help you."

Andrew nodded. "Shinji made a mistake bringing us here. We're closer than any guild and together we're going to get out of this mess but _only_ if you keep us in the loop. If you've got suspicions, even baseless ones, because it's you…they're worth looking into."

Kazuto nodded. "Thanks guys."

So another dungeon was done but yet another problem had presented itself. Kazuto had to make sure he was ready in case whoever was out there that worked for Shinji tried anything against them.

UNKNOWN

"They've completed dungeon number two and returned home to their base of operations," someone reported.

"Very well. Move onto the next stage then," replied his superior. "Mr. Koujiro will be keeping tabs by knowing when each of the dungeon cor cubes is destroyed. Everything else will be handled by us: the Hand of Destiny."

"Yes, sir."

When the grunt was gone, the leader turned to the computer that showed live feed from an adjacent room. It showed two tables on which the bodies of two girls unconscious lay within. "Dungeons one and two were child's play. As Kazuto progresses the stakes are going to get higher and higher. I personally can't wait to see how this plays out."


	7. The Power of a Woman's Scorn

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Chapter Seven: The Power of a Woman's Scorn

ASUNA

Rika and Sinon knocked on Asuna's bedroom door, already hearing her cries and sniffs through the wood. "Hey, it's just us," Rika said opening the door.

Asuna wiped her nose and looked up to see Sinon offering her a tissue. "Thank you…" She took it and blew her nose.

Rika and Sinon exchanged looks but it was Rika that said, "Don't think too much on it, Asuna. Kazuto has always been this way."

"Yeah but we're husband and wife now. Doesn't he know that going off on his own and having something happen to him means I'll be left alone, too?" Asuna countered.

"He knows that," Sinon rubbed Asuna's back in large circles. "But I think the idea of being left alone if something were to happen to you on his watch is a scenario Kazuto refuses to let happen."

Asuna blinked. "The others did tell me what happened after I supposedly died in SAO."

Rika nodded. "I wasn't there for the final battle myself but Ryoutatou and Andrew said Kazuto snapped. His body couldn't live without its other half." She snorted and crossed her arms. "It's annoying to see how attached you guys are to each other. It's like someone made one copy of a program, duplicated it, downloaded it into each of you then made it so it didn't work unless each of you has the other."

Sinon and Asuna just looked at her. "Huh?"

"Oh nevermind!"

The three laughed and Asuna wiped away the last of the tears. "I understand why he does it, I really do, but it scares me…like he's moving further away from me."

"I can't say I have a lot of experience with boys," Sinon said. "After all the first boy I trusted tried to kill me but I've read a lot of books. They usually say moments apart is good for a couple, even if it's just emotionally. The red ribbon of fate is still wrapped around both of you so no matter what you know he'll come back to you."

"That's right!" Rika agreed. "Kazuto always comes back."

"I guess you're right." Asuna smiled. "Thanks guys."

KAZUTO

Kazuto was exhausted but there was work to be done so he took Ryoutarou with him while the girls worked on Asuna. He felt terrible but he had plenty of time to make it up to her later after all of this was over. He patrolled around a little bit, though he didn't expect to find anything. Just getting out of the house and walking around in the cooling air of the setting dusk seemed to clear his head.

"So this other group, is there any way to find out how many of them are out there? It could just be one guy or even Shinji himself, right?" Ryoutarou commented.

"I don't think it's Shinji though it would be exactly what Kayaba would do. Shinji is not his father. His father made a fair game with a set of rules that could be beaten. Shinji…I don't think he has that kind of moral fiber," Kazuto replied. He stopped and suddenly took out his phone. "But maybe there is a way to find out their numbers…"

Ryoutarou allowed Kazuto to make a call but kept his eyes about for any monsters.

"Chief Haruto, have you had a chance to check the census and airport logs against the refugees in the three safe houses we made?" Kazuto asked.

 _"Well, we've been able to catalog the hospital and city hall to account for some but the stadium doesn't have the organization of the other two and we're finding that it's slowing us down. Why?"_

Kazuto filtered what he wanted to say. "It seems some actual people have been kidnapped and made a part of this game, people we're expected to save by completing each dungeon."

 _"Yes, I heard from Mrs. Kaoru and her grandchildren."_

"When you finish cataloging the stadium can you create a list of potential victims for us? It might also give us an idea if there is anyone else still hiding out in the city."

 _"Sure, I'll get my men right on it."_

"Okay. Thank you."

Ryoutarou looked backwards at him. "Nice move, Leader."

"My first right move all day, it would seem." The two returned to the house and while Asuna busied herself in the kitchen making dinner, Kazuto looked over the map of the city. "We need to see about the ice dungeon and about saving that man's wife. We have to assume moving forward that there's an actual person trapped in there."

"Then as soon as we eat, we should go," Ryoutarou said.

But Kazuto shook his head. "Once again, we'd be too tired from the first dungeon to be of any use. I know you want to save these people all at once but some of them are going to have to wait. If there is a group out there preparing these dungeons then they'll make sure the quest givers are given food and water. It does them no good to let them die."

"We could stake out the dungeon and see when they pop up," Sinon suggested.

Kazuto opened his mouth but it was Andrew who beat him to it. "We have to be careful because any interference could set off Shinji and he still has Asuna's father."

Rika rubbed her chin. "Wait a minute…if Shinji is with Asuna's dad and Asuna's dad is in the final dungeon then doesn't that mean Shinji is in the final dungeon too?"

"He could be…we just don't know."

SHINJI

"As it stands, no forces have been able to enter or leave from Kanazawa and all attempted communication with those on the inside has failed," the TV announcer spoke as she turned to her guest. "I'm here with technology innovator Shinji Koujiro. Mr. Koujiro, what do you make of these events?"

"Well, of course, it's too early to begin pointing fingers but based on my expert opinion I think it's safe to assume Kazuto Kirigaya's cor cube's are to blame," Shinji confidently spouted.

"Do you believe Mr. Kirigaya's actions to be intentional or is this just a fatal error of his technology?"

"If it was just the cor cubes malfunctioning then I would say it was purely accidental. However, none of Kazuto's plans for the city involved a force field so I can't help but think it's intentional."

The TV announcer turned back to the camera. "You heard it here first. Kanazawa, a city under siege. More here when we come back."

KAZUTO

Kazuto didn't hear from Chief Haruto until the following morning. He clicked so that it sounded over speak phone

 _"I'm still working on the stadium but something else has come up that we need your help with. One of the priests from a local temple was treated here at the hospital and insisted on returning to his temple to retrieve some things. I wanted him to wait until I could arrange an escort but he left before I could arrange it. One of his assistants came back and told us the priest and his assistant had been taken. I asked him what it was that took him and he said they were all human."_

Kazuto withheld a curse. "I had a feeling there was someone else out there working against us. If I had to take a guess I'd say they took the priest to force our hand and clear a particular dungeon. Which temple did the priest belong to?"

 _"It's the Jomyoji Temple_. _"_

"We'll head there immediately."

 _"And we'll keep working on the stadium. Hopefully I'll have those numbers ready by the end of the day."_

When he hung up the group assembled before him. "Jomyoji Temple. Who was in charge of scouting that one out?"

"I did," Andrew spoke up. "The problem with that one was the path leading to the temple goes along this route here." he pointed to a spot on the map. "It's called Mt. Utatsuyama and the path is supposed to be a spiritual path that eventually ends at Jomyoji Temple. I was only able to scout the final temple from afar because I didn't want to travel too far down the path and not be able to fight my way out."

Sinon traced a line from the point Andrew had marked. "The spiritual road is supposed to have 50 or so shrines to various people. There are a lot of plants and trees so we can assume it'll be a lost temple/ruins with a forest background kind of theme."

Kazuto nodded. "Okay so forest and jungle types of monsters, probably some undead and ghosts because of the shrines. We're going to need fire and light elements."

"What about the husband whose wife is inside the ice dungeon Rika spoke of?" Ryoutarou said. "We can't make him or his wife wait anymore than we already have!"

"Don't you think I know that!?" Kazuto exclaimed. "If Shinji's underlings have taken a priest hostage then they're dictating that Jomyoji Temple is the next dungeon we have to fight. If we go out of order, what then? Maybe he offs the priest while we're trying to save the wife!?"

Andrew came up and got between the two. "All right, let's just calm down and think about it." He looked at Kazuto. "Is there any chance we could split up and each handle one of the dungeons?"

Kazuto sighed and shook his head. "I honestly don't think three of us could handle one of those dungeons and to try is suicide. However, I have a theory that'll lay this argument to rest." He looked up at Ryoutarou. "Take Andrew and Sinon and go to the ice dungeon. Check on the guest giver, for lack of a better term, then come back here."

The taller man blinked. "That's it?"

"If I'm right then yes. That's it."

While Kazuto waited for their friends to return, he went to find Asuna and found her on their bedroom balcony. He came up behind her and watched the wind pick up her hair and it danced on gentle breezes all around her. Back in that house on Floor 22, he had never seen Asuna so happy. If he had gained nothing else from that leave of absence than the view of her on that porch it would have all been worth it.

 _Back then when Heathcliff had called us back to the frontlines…somehow I knew…I knew we were never going to go back to that house again. That's what made it so hard to leave that day._

Dreams of those days in that home had been what kept him going when he was still developing the cor cube. Losing that house had almost made him regret beating the game. It was why he had been so happy about the New Aincrad including that single property located in the woods next to the lake. Like Asuna, he had never felt more at home, even in reality, than he had within those four walls.

The look Asuna wore now was a far cry from his beautiful newlywed wife. "Asuna, I…"

"Do you remember…waiting in that room hours before the floor 75 raid?" Asuna cut him off. "You asked me not to fight."

"I remember."

"I was angry and I told you if something were to happen to you I'd kill myself." Asuna turned to face him now, her face devoid of emotion. "I asked for three things that day and you've held up your end on two of them. Do you remember what they were?"

"You wanted to date for real, you wanted to get married, and…" he looked away. "You wanted to grow old together."

Asuna came up and cupped his face, getting him to look at her once more. "You have an obligation to take care of yourself so that I can see the Kazuto when he's old and gray and his daily activities involve fishing and yelling at the local children to get off our lawn."

Kazuto laughed softly. "I hate fishing."

"You protect me but I protect you, too. I'm not some princess you get to lock away in a tower to go off and be someone else's prince charming. You belong to me." Asuna moved in and kissed him. Kazuto's arms lifted on their own to hold her against him. "Are we together?"

Kazuto smiled. "In this world and the next."

RYOUTAROU

Ryoutarou went to where the ice dungeon was and the closer the trio got the higher the wind began to pick up. It started off low but by the time the dungeon came into view, the winds were gale-force, filled with snow and ice shards.

"We can't get any closer than this!" Andrew shouted above the winds.

"We'll be shredded to pieces!" Sinon agreed.

Ryoutarou gritted his teeth. "Sinon, can you see the quest giver?"

Sinon narrowed her eyes. "There's no one out there! He's probably taken shelter inside if he's still there at all!"

Ryoutarou held back a curse and turned around. "All right, let's head back!"

Kazuto watched as the three entered. Ryoutarou couldn't look him in the eye. "The dungeon is blocked with a snowstorm of some kind. We couldn't get near it."

"Then let's make plans to head to Jomyoji Temple." Kazuto didn't say anything more on the matter and simply referred them to a new map. This one was something Kazuto had sent Rika out to get. "This is the spiritual path and every shrine marked along the way. It's 2.6 kilometers or one and a half miles long. Depending on the density of monster spawns, it should take us a little under two hours to get through. The beginning of the path is here at the Kosaka Shrine and it ends at Jomyoji Temple where we should find the missing priest."

Andrew looked at the map. "There are lot of places someone could hide in all those buildings and behind trees."

"Right," Kazuto agreed. "So we'll have to be extra careful. Everyone ready? Then let's go."

Kazuto stopped at the foot of Kosaka Shrine and turned to face the group. "One thing I forgot to mention: this area in particular is very important to our nation's history. Most of these temples are at least 500 years old. It goes without saying but let's try and avoid collateral damage at all costs. I don't want the city to have more reason to hate me than they already do."

Asuna walked up to the shrine and lit some of the incense still sticking out of the bowl of sand. Folding her hands in front of her she silently prayed.

"Your prayers have been heard and the gods smile down upon you," a deep voice sounded from all around.

Asuna gasped as her body, along with those of the party, glowed blue for a moment before it died down. Her phone beeped and she read the text message. "We received a magical defense buff for two hours."

"Sweet!" Ryoutarou exclaimed.

"Let's make good use of it." Kazuto started down the path, taking point this time while Andrew brought up the rear. The first monster that appeared leapt out of a nearby bush and immediately went for Kazuto's throat. He lifted one sword to block but the power behind the lunge knocked him flat on his back. The vicious black panther roared and tried to claw past Kazuto's sword. "Somebody get him off of me!"

Andrew appeared and grabbed the cat by the back of the neck, throwing him into a nearby tree. Undeterred, the panther landed on its feet and came rushing in again. Its eyes were ice blue and the hue perfectly matched the crystal adorning its forehead. When it leapt this time, it was Asuna who appeared and stabbed the panther, shattering the crystal and the panther. Two more appeared out of the surrounding bushes and the group went on the defense.

"Do these things travel in packs or what!?" Ryouratou whined.

"Not normally," Sinon notched an arrow. "Panthers are solo hunters." She fired an arrow but the panther ducked and went for Rika instead. "Unless we just killed the mother then these could be her children."

Rika leapt up and came down with her hammer, destroying the cor cube in the first hit. Andrew killed the third but remained alert for any others. When nothing appeared, they group continued on through the path. It took several twists and turns, creating a lot of blind turns. The screaming of monkeys was heard overhead but this time the group was ready. The monsters leapt in from above but none of them ever touched ground. Their cor cubes were located in their bellies, making them easy kills.

There was a larger clearing preceding the Seiganji Temple and Kazuto paused to extend his senses. Almost immediately a display of decorated fans sprung to life and flew across the clearing, spinning horizontally. One caught Kazuto across the cheek, slicing it open. "Take cover! These things are as sharp as blades!"

A loud pounding was heard and a large statue of Buddha came to life and stood up. It's body grew muscle and shifted to look like a silverback gorilla's while the head still resembled the original stone carving of the deity.

"Okay, that's just creepy," Rika commented.

The monster beat on its chest with its fists and opened it mouth to let out a resounding roar. Immediately the group winced and rushed to cover their ears…only to find that they couldn't move!

"Paralyze!?" Asuna exclaimed.

"Dammit!" Kazuto cursed. The next instant the sub boss slammed both fists down on the ground creating a shockwave that knocked back and flattened everyone to the ground. Kazuto tried to get to his feet but he was dizzy. The shrine's fans appeared and spun in for another round. He tried to block but his equilibrium was off and he missed, receiving cuts on his back and thighs. The effect eventually wore off and he re-centered his focus on the creature.

"We can't afford to let that string of attacks happen again," Andrew grunted, sporting a shallow cut above his eyebrow that bled over one eye, blinding it.

"Sinon! Next time he beats on his chest, fill his mouth full of arrows! Maybe that'll stop his attack pattern!" Kazuto ordered.

"Okay!" replied the archer.

"We still need to find the cor cube!" Asuna said before diving in. She aimed for the head, the most likely place to have a weakness. She hit seven points with lightning speed however all the monster did was cry out and swat Asuna away.

"Asuna!" Kazuto leapt up and caught her before she could fall through the roof of a nearby building. When he landed he placed her gently down to recover and jumped back into the fray. Other than Sinon everyone leapt in and out attacking different places on the monster's body trying to find its weakness. The attack pattern remained the same and before long it beat on its chest and opened its mouth. "Sinon now!"

Sinon fired off several shots and the effect was immediate. The monster staggered back and clawed painfully at its face.

Ryoutarou wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and frowned. "Do monkeys usually wear jewelry?"

Kazuto looked and saw what he meant. Hidden beneath thick fur on the arms the sub boss had thin silver bracelets. "I think we found our new target!"

"But which one?" Ryoutarou asked.

Asuna got to her feet and stood at Kazuto's side. "Both. At the same time."

Kazuto looked at her and in a single glance husband and wife were on the same page. "Same time," he confirmed with a nod. It happened a couple times before: once during the first floor boss. There was no calling out commands, or switching with a shout, there was just two fighters with a single purpose. Each strike was perfectly choreographed with the other, two minds working as one, and since the first time they partied together…Asuna and Kazuto were one.

Once it had recovered, the sub boss opened its arms wide and snapped the shafts of the arrows with a single bite. It beat his chest and began the attack pattern again. Kazuto and Asuna moved together, switching from the left and right, confusing its programming. They dashed in and at the last possible moment Kazuto went right and Asuna went left. Their weapons flashed and two bracelets shattered before the beast's image disappeared.

Ryoutarou dropped to one knee, taking a deep breath of relief. "Not my favorite battle so far."

Rika came up and gave him a smirk, offering her hand to him. "You have a favorite?"

At this the samurai snorted and stood up with her help. "Of course. When I was a bad ass and took out ugly baby from mars."

"Is that what we're calling that one? Ugly baby from mars?" Andrew wondered.

Sinon came up to the group. "Why do we need names?"  
Rika replaced her mace to her side. "Because eventually when all this craziness is over, people are going to want the juicy details and I for one am calling this last one Gorbuddha."

Ryoutarou shook his head. "No, that's a terrible name. Buddhilla is much scarier. It sounds like Godzilla which, as we all know, wrecked havoc on Japan before SAO ever could."

Sinon sighed and hid her face in her hands. "Are we seriously discussing this?"

While the group spoke amongst themselves, Kazuto went over to Asuna who had remained quietly standing off on the side. She gazed up at the shrine. "You okay?"

Asuna startled at his approach slightly and nodded. "Yeah…it's just being here, seeing these places, it reminds me of home. My mother must be going out of her mind missing both father and me."

Kazuto pulled Asuna towards him and rested his forehead against hers. "She's a strong woman and she knows that she has a very capable daughter: someone who is fierce and loyal, dependable and true of heart. Not just in the virtual world but here in the real world. You're proving that now. This isn't the Asuna Yuuki who rose to the ranks of lieutenant within the Knights of the Blood Oath. You're fighting in reality as Asuna Kirigaya and no monster here can contest with your strength. We're going to make it out of this and we're all going home."

Asuna and Kazuto shared a kiss which was quickly interrupted by gagging sounds from Rika. "If you guys are done with the fluff, we still have the boss to fight and a priest to save! Geez."

Asuna winced and looked at her best friend. "Rika, perfect time as always."

"You like that? I try and be ready at any and all times for a good one liner. After all you two give me more opportunities than I can count." Rika stuck out her tongue and pulled down one eyelid.

Kazuto gave her an evil smile. "Just wait. One day you'll receive your revenge tenfold. I promise."

Rika froze and while the two passed by in front of her, continuing on down the path, Ryoutarou whistled. "I don't think I'd want to be on the Black Swordsman's bad side."

Andrew shook his head and followed after the two with Sinon. "Nope, not me neither."

"Been nice knowing you," Sinon waved goodbye.

Rika laughed nervously. "Oh come on guys! We all know Kazuto is too much of a softie to follow through on his threat!"

Asuna looked back behind her with an evil glint in her eye. "But you know what they say about Karma, right? Karma moves in two directions. I'd be careful if I were you."

ASUNA

They were approximately halfway through the spiritual path so it was almost another hour before they came to the final bridge that separated them from Jomyoji Temple. A thick fog grew and the group slowed before starting out over the water.

Asuna looked around and shivered. "Does anyone else have a really bad feeling about this?"

Rika nodded. "There's an evil presence in the air."

Kazuto's irises glowed red as he attempted to look through the fog. "There's someone there."

The group walked across the bridge until they were midway and stopped, watching with trepidation. With the long sleeves and dress, the person was obviously a woman. "Where? Where is he?" she asked to no one in particular.

Kazuto took a step forward. "Who are you waiting for?"

The woman blinked and seemed to notice there was someone there. Her eyes watered and she rushed at Kazuto, wrapping her arms around him. "I waited! I waited so long for you to return to me!"

Asuna's eyes went wide. "N-Now hold on a second!"

In an instant the tearful, weeping woman's attitude transformed and with one look the majority of the group was blasted back to the end of the bridge. "You can't have him! He's finally mine and he will remain with me for all eternity!"

Kazuto made a move to take out his swords but the woman's embrace tightened and her nails grew to puncture his back. Immediately he found himself paralyzed.

"Kazuto!" Asuna shouted in fear.

The woman shrieked and beneath her billowing dress the long, thick tentacles of a squid grew, elevating the woman at least a story and a half high. Her mouth opened and her teeth had serrated tips several inches long. One tentacle wrapped around Kazuto and kept him behind her, away from the perceived threat.

Rika blinked, "So Kazuto's our damsel in distress?"

"She's portraying the story of the Maiden of the Bridge," Sinon explained. "It's about a sad, lonely woman who apparently waits for her lover to return. For years she waited until eventually she's turned into a demon and consumed with jealousy."

"And now she believes Kazuto to be the love of her life?" Andrew asked.

"Oi, Oi, Oi, how do we know this isn't an actual person?" Ryoutarou asked. "We can't attack recklessly."

Asuna grit her teeth but opened up her phone. "Yui," she said, the girl picking up the house phone. "Can the cor cubes be used in a real life hostage to create a half human half monster boss?"

"Yes, Mama, it's possible and unfortunately it will make the battle much harder because the cor cube can be located anywhere either on the human or as part of the monster," came Yui's reply.

Asuna snapped the phone closed and put it in her pocket. "I'm open to suggestions."

"She sees you as the biggest threat, right Asuna?" Andrew said. "You distract her and we'll free Kazuto."

Asuna nodded, "Okay, Rika you're with me. Andrew and Ryoutarou work your way around to the back. Sinon, as soon as they free Kazuto cast purify to remove the paralysis."

Before they could execute their plan the woman screeched and the water on either side of the bridge rose upon her command and hit the group like a tsunami. The force of the water could have wiped them out easily but when the waters receded each member of the party was surrounded by a blue-hued shield. After the waters disappeared, the shield shattered leaving everyone confused.

"That prayer you made," Sinon reminded. "The magical defense. It took the hit for us."

Asuna bent at the waist and poised her rapier. "Then let's not let this chance go to waste." She rushed forward without fear and swiped multiple times, severing limbs which dissolved as soon as they were broken off from the main body. _So the cor cube isn't in those parts._

"He's mine! He's mine! After all this time, he's mine!" The creature focused on Asuna and Rika and tried swatting with its remaining tentacles.

Asuna saw the others start to work their way around so she shouted, "Is that so!? Then what does this mean?" She held up her hand that sparkled with her engagement and wedding rings. "He loves me and whoever you thought you were waiting for isn't Kazuto! I won't let you have him in this life _or_ the next!"

The tentacles "regrew", their projections being restored, and that's when Asuna saw the prayer beads around the woman's neck glow. _It's in the necklace!_

KAZUTO

Kazuto cursed himself for being caught off guard so easily. What was it about a woman throwing their arms around him that made it impossible to think? It happened when Rika hugged him and they were falling from impossible heights in SAO but that wasn't the only time. Now a seemingly innocent woman hugged him and she turned out to be a demonic monster.

 _It may not be her fault though. She's probably being controlled as easily as those before her._ They had to make it passed her in order to get to Jomyoji Temple and save the priest. Andrew batted aside one tentacle to allow Ryoutarou through while his samurai friend activated a sword skill and sliced through the appendage locking him in place.

As soon as he fell to the ground, Sinon was there and cast Esuna. Realizing what had happened the boss turned around and roared in defiance. "No!"

Kazuto drew his swords and prepared to fight.

"Kazuto!" he heard Asuna shout. "It's in the necklace! The cor cube is in the necklace!"

"How are we supposed to destroy the necklace without hurting her?" Ryoutarou asked.

Getting an idea, Kazuto put his swords away. "Leave it to me." He ran forward, unarmed, and leapt up the monsters body until he was right in front of her.

She gasped and her head snapped back in surprise. "Anata…"

He looked at her kindly and put a hand on her shoulder. "This isn't who you are." Then with the other hand he snapped the necklace off her and threw it to his comrades below. "Now!"

Sinon took aim and fired, shattering the main, slightly larger bead, in the center of the necklace. The portions of the monster that were projections disappeared and released from the influence, the actual girl fell to the ground where Kazuto gently caught her.

Asuna came up to him and looked down at her. "She's not any older than us."

Kazuto looked sadly down at the unconscious girl. "Just another victim." Half the group remained with the girl while the others rushed across the bridge to the temple. They returned shortly after with the old man. When the priest saw the girl he showed obvious recognition.

"Hitomi!" he exclaimed. "Oh thank you for saving her!"

"Of course." Kazuto said. "Is she one of your assistants?"

"Yes, she keeps the temple grounds clean with me and aids in the prayer of anyone who comes to us."

Kazuto tightened his lips. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"I needed to return to the temple, to ensure that our family's ancient relics were safely hidden away and protected. Hitomi and one other insisted on coming with me and though I knew Chief Haruto said he would arrange an escort I simply could not wait. I can see now that it was a mistake. A group of individuals appeared and took Hitomi, threatening harm upon her if I tried to leave the temple."

"Well you're safe now," Asuna said. "We'll get you back to a safe house. Hitomi will be fine once she wakes up. Your other assistant was the one who told Chief Haruto about your abduction. He's still safely back at the hospital."

"Can you tell me how many people were in the group?" Kazuto wondered.

"Hmm…if I remember correctly, there were six or seven in the group."

"I see…" A part of Kazuto's gut twisted. _It could just be a coincidence…_ He turned to Andrew. "Did you find the cor cube for the force field?"

"Yeah, it was projecting from the top of a Buddha statue. We destroyed the cube and the statue was left unharmed."

"Okay good. Then after our escort we head back home. We'll scout the ice dungeon again and see if it's opened up."

UNKNOWN

"The temple priest has been saved and the maiden was recovered unharmed."

"Of course she was. This is _him_ we're talking about. Mr. High and Mighty I'm better than everyone." The leader of Hand of Destiny licked her lips. "No matter. Our fun is just beginning."

"Are we going to reveal ourselves?"

"In time. When they're strong enough. If we fought them now it wouldn't even be a contest. I want to savor my revenge against that short little pipsqueak." _I can't wait to see the look on his face when he realizes it's me. Never underestimate the power of a woman's scorn, Kirito…_


	8. Revenge is Best Served Cold

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Author's Note: I just have one thing to say: I'm sorry. Even I feel evil writing this...but it had to be done.

Chapter Eight: Revenge is Best Served Cold

KAZUTO

"The first step to preparing for the ice dungeon will have to be changing our gear for cold weather," Kazuto called a meeting after dinner. "But we'll have to make the visit to the vendor quick because if we start the dungeon too late we run the risk of still being in the dungeon after dark."

Rika shook her head. "Yeah, no thank you. I've done the whole tundra after dark bit…" She met Kazuto's eyes and blushed at the memory so she quickly looked away. "Not doing that again."

"Do we even know which vendor has what we need?" Andrew asked.

Kazuto referred to their town map. "The shop here has clothes for women and this one here has clothes for men."

"You mean, split up?" Asuna asked worriedly, "With that other group out there?"

"We don't have much of a choice." Kazuto crossed his arms. "But we have our phones in case either group gets ambushed."

"It wouldn't make sense for them to attack us outside of the dungeons though, would it?" Ryoutarou commented. "If we die shouldn't it be through the game?" Rika elbowed him. "Ow! What? It's true! Wouldn't it be a victory if his game ends up doing us in?"

Sinon narrowed her eyes. "You're applying logic to a maniac. They don't exactly function the way a normal person would."

Kazuto nodded. "Sinon's right. We have to assume at all times that this other group will try and slow us down or otherwise make life harder. I don't like it any better than you do but we can't afford to go as a group and hit each shop. Think about it. As we progressed through each floor of SAO, the labyrinths got longer and longer, taking more time to get to the boss rooms. Whole weeks were spent sometimes before a boss raid could be planned to get to the next floor."

"I remember," Andrew said. "So we're going forward assuming the dungeons are going to take longer and longer to defeat."

"And we can't take more than a day for each dungeon because with thirteen dungeons that gives us just about two weeks to get out of this mess," Kazuto reminded. "After that supplies are going to have to start being rationed in order to make them last the extra week."

"At least we don't have to worry about water," Ryoutarou said in hopes of brightening the conversation. "We have two rivers that cut through Kanazawa: the Asanogawa River and the Saigawa River."

The meeting was interrupted when Kazuto's phone went off. He looked at the number. "It's Chief Haruto." Excusing himself from the group he went outside to the front porch which was still protected behind his shield. He clicked the accept button and held the phone up to his ear. "Chief Haruto, is everything okay?"

 _"Yes, Kazuto. I was just calling you to let you know we ran the numbers for the census against the recent attendance and death reports."_

"And what did you come up with?"

 _"We have approximately two dozen individuals that are unaccounted for. At least for the local ones I intend to send out a few men to their recorded residences and make sure they are okay."_

Kazuto paused. "There's something else isn't there?" Something in the chief's voice…

 _"Yeah, well, I don't have any proof of this but something in the reports leapt out at me and I've just got a feeling about them."_

"Let me guess: one group all arrived in Kanazawa within the last month just a couple weeks before the city was locked down."

 _"…that's right. Our records showed a group of ten people came on the same flight. There's no record of them leaving which means they are still out there. I started thinking: if this Shinji guy was able to pull off all this stuff there had to be planning that was involved, right?"_

Kazuto had to stop him right there. "I would recommend you focus on finding those whose addresses you have. If Shinji had men here he would have snuck them into the city in secret in order to hide their identities. If it makes you feel better, I'll head over to the hospital and pick up the list of names for that group. See if anything pops out at me."

 _"Okay. Sounds like a plan."_

Kazuto hung up the phone and debating what he was going to tell the others. He didn't want to keep it a secret but if he was wrong they'd be making plans against the wrong enemy. Sighing he returned back inside where everyone looked at him eagerly. "Chief Haruto says at least two dozen people are unaccounted for and should be out in the city."

"Would that be Shinji's group?" Ryoutarou asked.

Asuna met Kazuto's eyes. "You know who it is, don't you."

He thought about lying but if he was going to be a better husband he had to trust his wife. "Maybe. I could be wrong."

"Tell us what you're thinking," Lightning Flash Asuna insisted.

Kazuto closed his eyes. "It happened back when I first met Silica…I mean Keiko. I was hunting after a group called Titan's Hand."

Andrew's expression showed surprise. "One of the orange guilds?"

"That's right. I confronted them and used a teleportation crystal to send them all in the prison. When I knew them they numbered eight, including the leader: Rosalia." Kazuto remembered the encounter as though it were yesterday. "I told the chief not to focus too much on them. I suggested he go after any missing locals whose addresses are on file."

"I doubt Shinji's men would be against killing local police officers if they interfered," Sinon commented.

"Exactly my thoughts. The numbers don't add up though," Kazuto pointed out. "A group of ten that came in was still in the city when it came under siege. If it's Rosalia then she's added people since then. I'm going to get the list of missing to help figure out who might be taken hostage as placed in the dungeons."

Asuna stood up. "Then I'm going with you."

Kazuto didn't want her to go but he wanted to avoid arguments where he could. "Okay. Let's go."

ASUNA

Asuna critiqued the clothes in front of her when she and the girls went to the female shop located near the gardens the following morning. She knew she shouldn't be considering looks, what was most important was mobility, but some of these clothes were gaudy.

Rika was the one who said it. "Are they seriously expecting us to go into battle wearing something so ugly and poofy? The monsters are going to see us and start laughing."

Sinon came up with her purchases. "I don't care what I'm wearing so long as I'm not shaking. I can't afford to aim my bow if I'm shivering from the cold."

Asuna sighed and her shoulders drooped. "She's right. Let's just get something."

The blacksmith groaned. "All right…"

Asuna picked something out and went to try it on. In order to optimize her leg and arm movements, she opted for a thin wool dress but accessorized it with skin-colored leggings and a thermal undershirt.

"What about your cold resistance spell, Asuna?" she heard Rika ask from the next stall over.

"I intend to cast it but even the spell has its limitations. We just don't know so we have to assume it may wear off or it gets cold enough to penetrate," Asuna came out of her stall after changing and went to pay the vendor. "Besides, it's only for one dungeon." She looked over at Rika and saw the girl had selected a pink and red cloak to wear over her cold weather outfit. "Won't that be hard to fight in?"

"It's more of a comfort thing, a security blanket," Rika answered cryptically.

"Okay…" Asuna shrugged it off and left with the girls to return to the house.

KAZUTO

The boys picked out their clothes fast enough that Kazuto stopped by another vendor to see if they had a sword with a fire affinity. While he was browsing the light reflected off a ruby encrusted in the hilt of a sword and it caught his attention. It was a rapier called Pyrrhos' Revenge.

"You have a keen eye, swordsman," the vendor, a woman with long, straight black hair, came up with a smile. "That sword is special because it was forged with the blood of a god: Hephaestus."

Kazuto frowned. _The words sound like they're from Greek mythology._ "The sword is called Pyrrhos' Revenge."

"Hephaestus was the god of fire and forge and it was he who made it for Pyrrhos. Pyrrhos was the son of the great Achilles and a mighty warrior in his own right. He hid within the horse that eventually brought down the city of Troy, the location where his father was killed in battle."

Kazuto thought of Asuna and wanting her to be protected as much as possible said, "I'll take it." He also found a midnight blue sword called Dark Flamberge that supposedly came with a new spell called Fire of Hades, keeper of the underworld. It went with his Elucidator well.

The group assembled at the stairs leading up to the shrine entrance and this time no blizzard pushed them away. Everything was covered in a thick layer of ice and snow as well as a creepy mist that hovered just a few feet above the ground. "Everyone watch your step and stay alert. For the ice dungeon we should expect status ailments such as Freeze and Slow."

"Sinon and I will have Esuna ready," Asuna reminded.

"Let's go." Kazuto started up the steps and looked up at the trees that lined the path. They retained their shape but they were all frozen with large icicles hung from their branches. While they walked, a wind blew and the icicles shook, sounding like chimes. Something bit into Kazuto's cheek and it moved so fast he wasn't able to see it. He hissed in pain and grabbed his cheek. Blood wet his fingers. "On alert! Something's out there!"

"It's the trees!" Rika exclaimed. "Look!"

The wind blew again and the icicles chimed then turned horizontally, shooting like bullets from the trees straight at the group.

"If we're hit by all those we'll be shredded to pieces!" Andrew shouted.

"Everyone duck!" Ryoutarou spun his sword, the metal lighting up with fire as he did so. The icicle projectiles melted as they reached the inferno. "Run for it!"

Everyone ran up the steps two at a time. Asuna stumbled but Kazuto was there to grab her hand and keep them moving. Once they passed under the gate the projectiles stopped and Kazuto skidded to a halt. "Good job, Ryoutarou."

"Naturally." Ryoutarou smirked confidently.

Passed the entrance was a large plaza shaped like a square. When they arrived they noticed two pedestals that had lion statues poised on top of them. The lion's eyes flashed blue and the lions came to life. Their stone bodies had ice covering every inch of them and as they approached in a pincher attack, their breath formed puffs of steam in the air.

"Andrew, Rika and I will take the one on the left, the rest of you take the one on the right!" Kazuto blocked a lunge from the giant cat and grunted when the heavy stone threatened to crush his chest. _The cor cube even simulates weight to this extreme!?_

"Here, kitty, kitty, _kitty_!" Rika swung her hammer and slammed the lion in the face and off Kazuto.

In retaliation the lion opened its mouth and performed a breath attack. "Get behind me!" Asuna shouted, swinging her sword in a wide arc. Fire came to life at her command and it created a shield that block the attack.

Kazuto smirked at his wife. _As always, she's beautiful when she fights._ Finished with his assessment of the enemy, he prepared an attack. "Rika with me! I'll create the weakness you exploit it."

"With pleasure!"

Kazuto ran forward and jumped up, coming down with his sword in a thrust that struck the lion's back. Right behind him, Rika came down with her mace, slamming his sword through its body into the cor cube projecting from the cat's stomach. Sharing a high five with the mace user, Kazuto looked over and saw Andrew's team had finished with their enemy. "Let's move on."

The courtyard held other smaller monsters such as ice bats that did diving attacks from beneath overhanging ledges and ice snakes that struck without warning from nearby bushes. Kazuto got bit on the ankle but the freeze ailment only affected him up to his knee. Asuna cured him and it just left his skin tingling.

After the courtyard an ice forest opened up to them with a wide path cutting through the middle. Part of Kazuto wanted to rush through while the other part of him wished to take it slow and avoid traps. Loud growling caught his attention and from the forest a pack of three ice wolves aggroed.

"These guys are going to have a higher speed than the ice-stone lions. Be careful!" Just as he said that one wolf dodged to the side and bounced off a tree, coming back at Kazuto from the side. Asuna was there and struck him three times with her rapier. The attack knocked him back but it didn't destroy the cor cube. "Thanks, Asuna."

"Don't thank me yet." Asuna prepared for another attack from the enemy and it came in the form of a claw attack. She parried the first strike but the second cut up her shoulder, freezing her sword arm. In response, Asuna let go of Pyrrhos's Revenge and deftly caught it in her left hand. She stabbed four times but once again it only succeeding in angering the wolf.

 _She's been training with her weak hand…smart,_ Kazuto admired.

"I'm not finding a weakness!" Ryoutarou called out. He slashed out with his fire attack causing the two wolves on his side of the fight to jump back to their friend. Their forms shifted and the three wolves combined into one giant wolf with three heads. "Oh come on!" he whined. "That's not fair!"

Kazuto clenched his teeth and tried to scan for where the cor cube could be. _This is taking the fighting algorithm to a whole new level!_ For a moment, the Black Swordsman hesitated as a slight panic began to set in.

"Circle it and attack from all sides!" Asuna shouted. "We'll find the cor cube faster that way!"

Their friends all called out their confirmations and leapt to different positions. Kazuto snapped out of it and got his sword ready. _That's right. Whenever I stumble, Asuna's there to pick me up just like I helped her on the stairs earlier._ "Okay, hit and run tactics! Watch out for its breath attack!"

The ice Cerberus had no problem countering three quarters of the attacks that came its way due to its increase points of view. Only attacks from behind landed but none of them caused any real damage. Thus Kazuto realized the cor cube couldn't be back there. Something shiny caught his eyes and he smirked. _Gotchya!_

"Keep the heads occupied! I've got an idea!" Kazuto ordered.

"You heard him!" Andrew struck his ax against the ground and sent a three shockwaves towards the Cerberus.

When the others landed attacks and the wolf heads reared back in pain, Kazuto ran full speed at it, doing a baseball slide beneath it. He lifted his sword when he was at the base of the three heads and with a snap of his wrist he severed the studded collar which housed the cor cube. The monster shattered and Kazuto stood up triumphantly. "That was great teamwork."

The forest led to a giant frozen pond that had thin wooden planks connected in zig zag patterns from one end to the other. The mist was thicker here, making the bridges hard to see and any monsters that might be hiding as well.

Rika grabbed hold of Asuna's arm. "I don't like the look of this at all."

"There won't be any monsters in the water, right?" Ryoutarou commented. "The cor cubes can't function underwater."

Kazuto crossed his arms. "That's what I thought until Yui made a good point. There were cor cubes implanted in our skin through our blood stream, same as the nanomachines, which means somehow they were able to be protected against liquid. The only theory I was able to come up with is the cor cubes have bi-functions, one of which is to project a tiny shield to protect them from the liquid and the second to execute our weapons, armor, and spells."

"So there really c-could be something lurking under all that?" Rika's grip tightened.

"We have to cross it so let's just get it over with." Sinon took point and started out across the wooden planks.

Kazuto took small steps, making sure his footing was solid before he put his entire weight down. He spread out his senses as much as he could and activated his infrared vision to penetrate the mist. It was quiet and Kazuto's hairs stood up on the back of his neck beneath his thick collar. _Something's wrong._

Standing at the top of a distant tree, a single individual stood poised with a long speared weapon. _It's her!_ He opened his mouth to shout a warning when the person attacked. They threw the spear and it flew with impossible speed right passed Kazuto's face. His hair swooshed and when he turned he saw his beloved jolt with the hit.

The sheer power knocked her off the wooden planks and hard enough onto the ice to fracture the element. Asuna's body was thrown into the depths and as soon as she disappeared the ice frozen back over, blocking Kazuto's dive after her.

"Asuna! _ASUNA!_ " Kazuto pounded on the ice but it was unwilling to let him pass.

"Where did that attack come from!?" Andrew prepared for subsequent attacks.

Kazuto's heart ceased. "There's no time!" He unsheathed his weapon and took a few steps back. "Asuna will suffocate if we don't save her _now_! Ryoutarou use your fire attack against the ice, Rika hit it as hard as you can when you see it weaken! Sinon when I start coming down fire a retrieval arrow. Andrew, give me a boost!" Kazuto didn't want to hear them comply. He ran at his friend and knew they would do what he asked of them.

Andrew sheathed his weapon and interlaced his fingers, cupping them. When Kazuto was before him the ax user launched him into the air. Kazuto ignited his Fire of Hades, his sword lighting up with the blue flame. Ryoutarou swung wide, his fire cracking the ice. Rika smashed it reopening the path to Asuna.

"Ahhhhh!" Kazuto grabbed hold of Sinon's arrow, the projectile connected to its caster by a thick blue rope. Kazuto dove under the water, instantly feeling the cold penetrate any and all layers he wore. He frantically looked around for his wife, his body already shutting down of its own volition. _Not yet…not yet…_ A blue hue around him, evidence of Asuna's cold resistance spell shattered under the bombardment of the frigid water.

A new level of cold struck Kazuto and his body froze. _No, no, don't stop! I can't stop!_

He saw her there, just below, her unconscious body blue from head to toe. He forced his limbs to move and swam down to her. The spear still pierced through her abdomen. He grabbed hold of the weapon first, pulling it free, before he wrapped his arms around her and gave the rope a pull. The darkness closed in around his vision but still Kazuto held on…

Kazuto jolted awake and looked around in surprise. He was at the hospital, wrapped in a heated blanket, lying on a cot. "Asuna! Asuna!"

Rika took him by the shoulders. "It's okay! Kazuto, you're safe!"

He shook his head. "Asuna! Where's Asuna!"

Rika looked away. "Sinon went with her into surgery. We pulled you two out of the ice and brought you here. Asuna, she's…"

Kazuto threw his legs over the side and tried to get to his feet but fell to the ground instead. "What!?" Looking down his hands, he saw they were bright blue with the tips turning black. "A side effect of using the flame of the underworld?"

"No, it's hypothermia," Rika corrected. "You almost died."

Growling, Kazuto forced himself up and ran for the door. He passed by Andrew and Ryoutarou coming back to him from the hallway. "Kazuto!" they shouted.

But he didn't hear them. He ran out the door and summoned his sword with his mind, the nanomachines and cor cubes projecting it straight into his hands. "Rosalia! Rosalia, I know it was you! Come out here and fight me!"

His friends chased after him, worried for their friend. "What are you doing!?" Rika demanded.

Kazuto didn't ignore them. They simply didn't exist. Someone had hurt his Asuna, _his wife Asuna…_ and they were going to die. "Rosalia!"

Andrew and Ryoutarou each grabbed hold of their leader's arms but he threw them off with a mere thought. They were blasted back five feet and watched on with stunned surprise.

A feminine laugh rang through the air and a woman with long blood red hair appeared at the top of a nearby building. "Kazuto…or should I call you Kirito: the Black Swordsman. You're not looking so good. I'd even say you're looking a little blue around the gills." She laughed again, holding a new spear at her side. "And how is your precious Asuna? Is she dead yet?"

"Rosalia!" Kazuto leapt up with a war cry but with a single swipe, Rosalia sent him back down into the ground hard enough to crack the asphalt. "What are you even doing here!? I sent you to prison!"

"Yes, you did. On February 24th you became judge, jury, and executioner against me and those in Titan's Hand!" the person accused. "All that time until you beat the game we were held in that digital hell! Returned back into our human bodies, we were eventually released and found not guilty for crimes within Aincrad. How could they? There was no proof and no laws existed for digital murders! That wasn't the end of it, however. Instead of being freed, we were institutionalized and subjected to mental experiments to study the after effects of being trapped in SAO."

She whistled and seven more individuals came out into view. "My name, my true name, is Sakura and this is the Hand of Destiny!"

Kazuto looked up and recognized each of the faces he committed that day. "How did Shinji find you?"

"Mr. Koujiro hacked into the government's database. He found out all about our time in SAO and even about your deepest, darkest secret." Sakura sneered down at him. "Given the chance to finally see you pay for what you did to us I jumped at the chance to see you writhe in pain!"

Kazuto allowed Andrew and Ryoutarou to pull him to his feet. "You're like us, aren't you? Augmented with nanomachines and cor cubes."

"We're a million times stronger than you. You can't even scratch us at the level you are. If we fought now your death would be too easy."

"So you aim for Asuna!? To hurt me, is that it!?" Kazuto growled, infuriated at his own helplessness.

"Oh, it's not just Asuna. Everyone you ever cared about will suffer because of you. She's just the first!" Sakura laughed, "Since that little whore of a girl didn't come to your launch party Shinji…acquired dear little Silica and brought her here. I seek revenge against her as well for thinking she could stand up against me!"

"What have you done with Keiko!?" Rika demanded.

"She's your reward for beating the next dungeon," Sakura winked. "But don't think about skipping the order now. Finish the ice dungeon and maybe you'll come across Keiko later on. It'll depend on my mood." Sakura waved goodbye. "May you suffer in agony a thousand times over, Kazuto. The worst is yet to come!" Her guild mates sulked back into the shadows, leaving Kazuto's group alone once more.

"Kazuto…" Rika stepped forward.

Kazuto spun around and took off back inside. He found Asuna's surgery room just as Sinon was coming out. While he was running down the hallway towards her, Sinon wiped the sweat from her brow and began to collapse from exhaustion. He caught her and lowered her to the ground. "Sinon!"

Her eyes rolled but she saw it was Kazuto and started to cry. "I'm sorry, Kazuto…I'm not a strong healer like Asuna. All I was able to do was keep her with us long enough for the surgeons to repair the damage the spear did."

Kazuto looked up when the door opened and the nurses rolled Asuna out. She was unconscious and hooked up to different machines. His chest tightened and though he wished to rush to her side he stood up instead and held Sinon close in his arms. "You did your best and I can't ask for more of you. You helped save her and I'm eternally grateful."

Sinon hid her head in his chest and let more tears flow. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

Hours later Kazuto sat at Asuna's bedside, his beloved still unable to awaken. She was weak and suffering from hypothermia aside from the hole that had been inflicted through her stomach. Kazuto had flashbacks of that darker time in his life when he visited Asuna weekly, trying to keep his sanity when she refused to wake up weeks after SAO had been officially beaten. _This isn't the same thing. She'll wake up. She has to._ Unable to continue to sit and do nothing, Kazuto got to his feet and walked out of her room.

Nearby, Andrew saw him and came up to match his stride. "Where are you going?"

Kazuto didn't even look at him. "I can't go after Ros—I mean Sakura yet. Her power is beyond what I can fight…for now. I'm going back to the dungeon and I'm taking the boss down."

"By yourself!? You can't do that, Kazuto. It's suicide!"

"I can't stay here and do nothing! I need to do something productive and out there someone has been waiting for his wife to be saved for _days._ I'm through making him wait."

Andrew sighed. "Then I'm coming with you."

"No, I need you to stay here with Asuna. There's no guarantee Sakura won't try again. There's a chance she'll be able to get through the force field protecting the hospital. I'm not willing to risk it."

Ryoutarou appeared from an adjacent hallway. "Then I'm coming along." He smirked and crossed his arms. "You'll need my fire."

"And mine," Sinon joined.

Kazuto looked at the girl. "I need you to stay here with Asuna as well, in case her wounds open up or there are complications with her condition. Your healing ability may also still hasten her recovery time."

Someone slapped the back of Kazuto's head. He spun around and was faced to face with Rika. "Then I'll come. You don't get to go all solo player, I'm Mr. Badass and don't care what happens to me. Asuna's my best friend and if I can't help her then I can make damn sure you get back to her side in one piece where you belong."

Kazuto glared at her but was unwilling to push the matter. "Fine. Andrew and Sinon stay. Ryoutarou and Rika with me. Let's put this ice dungeon behind us." He walked out of the hospital and stared into the distance. _One battle at a time. First Asuna then Keiko. I'll get stronger and this time I won't just imprison Sakura…I'm putting her six feet under where she belongs._


	9. The Honor of the Samurai

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Chapter Nine: The Honor of the Samurai

RYOUTAROU

Ryoutarou kept a close eye on Kazuto as they returned to the ice dungeon. His friend's mood not withstanding, he was concerned about Kazuto reaching a point of no return and doing something he was going to regret. The moment Heathcliff had paralyzed the entire group and his identity had been revealed was forever etched into his mind. Ryoutarou couldn't believe he was forced to watch his good friend Kirito fight to the death for every soul, 6,000 total, still trapped in that hell of a game.

Then to see Asuna struck down before his eyes, unable to save her or hold her as her friend in her last moments. Ryoutarou wasn't sure what he had seen that day. When a player's health reached zero they died and their avatar disappeared forever. Kazuto's health was gone and yet _something_ remained. Whatever it was, Ryoutarou could see through it and it chilled him to the bone. Losing his love, his _wife_ , had done something to Kazuto that took years to repair.

Ryoutarou himself had broken down into tears when he'd learned that Kirito was, in fact, alive. The hero of SAO didn't die fighting for them. Now Kazuto had been forced to see that horror again except, thank the gods, Asuna was still with them. Ryoutarou was no fool. He knew Kazuto wasn't in his right mind. He would stay by his friend's side until Kazuto got a hold of reality.

Unlike SAO, or even ALO, monsters here didn't respawn. Once their cor cubes were destroyed they didn't come back. It was one good thing about wandering about the city. The streets were cleared of monsters after a couple of days. The trees on either side of the entrance to the ice dungeon attacked and Ryoutarou wiped the floor with his fire, clearing the way to the courtyard. The lions were gone so only small monsters appeared and none of them were a problem. Likewise the forest was suspiciously quiet.

When they came upon the frozen pond, Ryoutarou looked to Kazuto. The swordsman paused and looked out over the water. "There's no one here. Let's go." He walked out across the planks, the mist still as thick as before. The sun was still up but it was starting to set and the temperature was dropping significantly.

Rika shivered. "Are we going to be okay if we're still here when the sun sets?"

"You can leave," Kazuto said flatly. "I'm finding that boss."

Ryoutarou's brows furrowed. "Oi, Kazuto…"

Rika's face reddened in anger, "You're not going to fare any better in freezing temperatures than we are and as it stands we may not even be enough to defeat the boss with just the three of us!"

Kazuto said nothing and simply kept walking. Ryoutarou gave Rika a look and slowly turned to follow. The plank bridges led back to land and on the far side of the pond the mist thinned. Ryoutarou squinted and thought he saw a giant boulder only to realize it was a huge chunk of ice resembling a flower bud. Inside, with their eyes closed, was a woman. She had her arms wrapped around her chest with a peaceful expression on her face.

"Is that her?" Rika wondered. She stepped forward only to have Kazuto hold out an arm to stop her.

At the base of the ice sat a man who wore a blue and white robe with a midnight blue bandana across his forehead. He had long black hair pulled up into a high ponytail. He sat cross-legged in the traditional meditating position with the flats of his feet facing up and the back of his hands resting on his knees. "I am Shiva, supreme god of destruction. For what purpose have you invaded my land?"

"We intend to return that poor woman behind you back to her husband from whom you stole her. What kind of god would lower themselves to perform such an atrocity?" Kazuto asked.

Ryoutarou winced, "Oi, Kazuto, are you trying to piss him off?"

Without opening his eyes, Shiva smirked. "Lower beings such as your selves are not worth my time. You will not take my prize but you will die here." When he said that, two large beastmen came out to stand on either side of the deity. They were partially covered in thick, white fur while the rest was exposed, showing large blue muscles. They stood on two legs and appeared mostly human aside from their massive brawn. Their faces reminded Ryoutarou of Thyrn, the Frost Giant King from ALO only these guys were maybe eight feet tall and not thirty. They had solid ice blue eyes and wielded double bladed axes.

Kazuto unsheathed his swords and without issuing any orders, leapt between the adds aiming for the god himself. He was repelled by a previously invisible shield and skidded to a halt back with Ryoutarou and Rika. Two blue sapphires that adorned the adds' axes glowed.

"Take out the axes and we'll lower the shield on the boss!" Kazuto went for the one on the right while Ryoutarou and Rika took the one on the left. Ryoutarou didn't like it but this was no time to argue. He attacked when he could and switched out for Rika to land some hits. All the while he kept checking on Kazuto. The swordsman attacks were jagged and irregular. His usual calm demeanor was gone and it left him wide open to attack. He suffered superficial injuries that he normally wouldn't have. The monster slammed Kazuto into ground, stunning him.

"Kazuto!" Ryoutarou spun his sword and aimed true, striking the jewel on the ax, shattering it instantly. Then he flipped his hold on the sword and threw it at the second beast, destroying his cor cube before he could land a killing blow against Kazuto. The threat nullified, Ryoutarou bent down and offered Kazuto his hand. "You okay?"

Kazuto didn't meet his gaze. "I'm fine." But he took the hand and stood up.

The shield around Shiva shimmered and shrank, tightening around the god and reforming as pieces of armor as he stood up. Over his robe appeared shoulder pads, a chest piece, and thigh guards. Also appearing was a long trident spear which he grabbed and spun expertly. "You will regret defying me." He went for Ryoutarou first. As victor from the last battle the samurai had more aggro. Ryoutarou had yet to reclaim his weapon and was completely on the defensive, barely avoiding the vicious thrusts of the warrior god.

"Ryoutarou!" Kazuto exclaimed, diving for his friend's sword. "Catch!"

Ryoutarou went to catch it but Shiva didn't allow for it. He swung his spear and deflected the weapon across the frozen lake. "Destruction upon you." Shiva moved to stab Ryoutarou but Rika was there and blocked with her shield. The blow threw her into Ryoutarou and the two slammed back into a nearby boulder.

Kazuto resumed his attacks against Shiva with more fervor than before and Ryoutarou began to see the Kazuto from Floor 75. _The darkness behind the Black Swordsman._ After making sure Rika was okay, Ryoutarou summoned another sword and rushed to help. _That crescent moon on his chest, maybe that's the cor cube. But with his speed it'll be almost impossible to hit. Only got one chance._ Ryoutarou sheathed his sword and prepared his special sword skill Quick Draw. "Kazuto, switch out!"

Kazuto didn't acknowledge him and just kept attacking. Ryoutarou could tell he was tired but without his friend knowing he was coming, the samurai ran the risk of getting hit by his ally. _Dammit, it's like he's gone berserk!_ Kazuto let out a warrior's cry and batted aside a strike from Shiva before stabbing the crescent shape in Shiva's chest armor.

Shiva stumbled back clutching his chest while his armor shattered. Expecting the fight to be over, Kazuto wasn't prepared when Shiva swung his weapon again landing a hit across Kazuto hip to shoulder. Ryoutarou moved in then and did his Quick Draw. Even at that speed, Shiva parried it and the sword pierced his shoulder armor instead. When the piece shattered Ryoutarou realized what had to be done. He stood between Shiva and his friends while Rika pulled Kazuto away from danger.

"Ryoutarou! Kazuto's hurt but it seems pretty shallow!" Rika told him.

"Then we need to get him back to the hospital. We don't have a healer so for now we can't help him." Ryoutarou took a deep breath and put his sword back in its sheath.

Shiva saw the move and prepared to defend. "The samurai live for honor. How then can you knowingly go against a god? Where is your honor?"

Closing his eyes, Ryoutarou replied, "I live for my friends and that's a type of honor you will never understand." _I've never tried this technique but without the spell delay that paralyzes us after using a skill it should be possible._ The Quick Draw technique was only intended to be used once as an opening move before regular attacks. _He's got one more shoulder pad and two thigh guards…the other cor cubes must be in there. Destroy the armor, defeat the god._ Ryoutarou tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword and steeled his mind. If he failed, they were all dead.

Ryoutarou opened his eyes and drew his sword three times. Each time, the blinding-fast move struck a different piece of armor, shattering them. When Shiva stumbled back this time he began shaking with laughter.

"I don't get it," Rika said. "Why isn't he disappearing?"

Kazuto tried to answer but hissed in pain and clutched his chest. "T-there must be more cor cubes…"

Ryoutarou took out his sword and got ready for retaliation. "He's changing forms!" Shiva's lower half disappeared only to be replaced with what looked like a huge Siberian tiger. The tiger's tail took the form of a cobra and two extra arms expanded out of his ribs. "Dear gods…" Shiva's hair came out of his ponytail, giving him a feral appearance.

The tiger reared back and slashed with his paw at Ryoutarou who was able to block it but lost some ground. "I will destroy everything!"

Ryoutarou swallowed hard but looked behind him and saw Kazuto still wasn't ready to fight. "Not on my watch!" He rushed in and fought as best as he could. A couple seconds behind him was Rika who also tried to find the new cor cube which would hopefully end the god once and for all. Rika landed a good hit to Shiva's back but the damage was minimal.

Taking in as many details as he could, Ryoutarou noticed the headband that had held back the god's bangs was gone now, revealing a previously unseen third eye. _That's gotta be the weakness!_

Kazuto appeared suddenly and seemed to have seen the same thing because he performed two parries, batting aside Shiva's strikes, before he tried a thrust at the god's forehead. Instead of being hurt, the attack merely caused the god's tail, the cobra, to disappear. Shiva caught Kazuto before he could pull away again. The bottom two arms held Kazuto in a tight bear hug, Kazuto's back to the deity, while the two top arms held Shiva's spear across his throat.

"The only way to kill me is to stab me through the heart and that is impossible for humans like you." Shiva tightened his grip and Kazuto cried out in pain, the blood from his chest wound soiling his shirt.

"Kazuto!" Rika exclaimed. "Ryotuarou, we have to do something!"

Ryoutarou knew what he had to do and he didn't hesitate. He had a skill, one he had never been able to use in SAO for obvious reasons but he'd used it a couple times in ALO. In chess, there was a move called Castling. It involved switching the all important King with the Rook. Kazuto was too important to lose. Ryoutarou on the other hand…

Ryoutarou activated the spell and his form blurred with his speed. He moved in, took Kazuto out of Shiva's grasp and put himself in Kazuto's place. After the skill was performed, Ryoutarou immediately felt Shiva's pressure on his body. It made it impossible to breath.

"You wish to sacrifice yourself in your comrade's place?" Shiva asked. "Very well, I'll allow you to die for him."

"Ryoutarou!" Kazuto exclaimed.

Ryoutarou looked down at his friend and gave him a sympathetic smile. "You'll get over this. I know you will. Too much is riding on us defeating this death game. You can't die here." Holding his katana tightly, Ryoutarou looked back at his enemy. "If I'm going to die then I'm taking you down with me!" Putting all his strength into getting a little bit of breathing room, Ryoutarou lifted his sword and turning the blade around ran it through his stomach into the Shiva's chest.

"I-Impossible!" Shiva trembled and shattered, leaving Ryoutarou to fall to the floor.

KAZUTO

"Ryoutarou!" Kazuto rushed forward and caught his friend before he could hit the ground. "Why!? Why did you do something so stupid!" But Ryoutarou remained quiet and still in his arms.

"Your honor is admirable, samurai. In my departure I grant you a piece of my strength. Use it well…" Shiva's voice sounded from all around and within Ryoutarou's wound, shards of ice grew, momentarily stopping the bleeding.

"Come on! We have to get him to the hospital!" Rika went under one arm while Kazuto went under the other.

Kazuto, as if the fog around his head had cleared, grit his teeth against his guilt. _Ryoutarou…this is all my fault. I'm sorry…_ He got up and started walking away when the sound of ice cracking rang out from behind them. Turning around they saw the imprisoned woman freed when the ice block exploded. She fell to her knees and started coughing. "Rika, get her back to her husband and destroy the cor cube for the force field. It should be nearby. I'll get Ryoutarou to the hospital. Meet me there when you're done."

Rika hesitated but there was too much to do and only the two of them to do it. "All right…" she went over to the woman but stopped to look back over her shoulder. "Hey Kazuto…are you…okay now?"

He gave her a soft smile. "Yeah, I'm back. Sorry about all that."

She returned his smile. "I'll give you an earful later."

He laughed. "I guess I'll have to let you."

LATER, AT THE HOSPITAL...

Sinon had her hands full healing Kazuto and Ryoutarou. Like Asuna, Sinon could only keep Ryoutarou going long enough for the hospital staff to fix the important stuff. While Ryoutarou was in recovery, Kazuto went to see Asuna. She was awake and gave him a weak smile when he entered her room.

"I was wondering where you wandered off to," she greeted.

"Papa!" Yui jumped up from the seat in the corner and came over to leap into his arms. "We were worried about you! How could you run off to do the ice dungeon with just the three of you!?"

Kazuto looked at Asuna and winced. "Ratted out by the kid."

"She didn't have to tell me," Asuna told him. "I knew that's where you'd be. You don't sit still and wait very well." She laughed lightly but stopped when it aggravated her stitches.

Kazuto put Yui down and sat down on the side of Asuna's bed. "I messed up." He told her about the ice dungeon and about how Ryoutarou had saved him from himself. "I feel so lost, like the whole world's against us."

"You've suffered setbacks. We've had them before." Asuna shrugged. "We re-strategize and move on. Each time we learn something. With this Sakura revealing herself, we know their motives and we know what to expect. They won't hurt Keiko. The purpose is for us to rescue her. Until then she'll remain alive and well."

"We can't know what to expect from someone like Sakura. She's bent on revenge and it can blind a person, I should know. We can't know for sure that she won't hurt Keiko because she hurt you, didn't she?" Kazuto took Asuna's hand and held it gently.

"I hate to say it but I was only a demonstration: a show of power. She wanted to scare you…and it worked."

Kazuto covered his face and gripped his bangs. "I am scared. I'm that solo kid on the first floor again, thinking it's me against everyone."

"But you aren't alone. You have us. Some of us may be injured now but we'll recover. Already the nanomachines within me are speeding up my recovery. I'm sure the same will happen with Ryoutarou." Asuna cupped Kazuto's cheek with one hand. "You should speak to him. I don't think you'll be able to come out of this funk until you do."

"Okay…" Kazuto gave Asuna a kiss and left her to rest. He went next door where the hospital was nice enough to put his other injured friend. He peeked into the room and saw Ryoutarou was still asleep from surgery. He sighed heavily and came in to sit in the chair.

Though it had happened just a few hours ago, Kazuto had trouble recalling what all had occurred within the ice dungeon. He had been so focused on his anger and taking that anger out of the boss that he had completely forgotten that he had friends risking their lives by his side. For months after leaving Klein at the Town of Beginnings Kirito had dealt with the heavy guilt created by his actions. They remained during his entire sentence in Aincrad leading up to the end at Floor 75.

"And now I've gone and done it again." Kazuto looked at his friend and felt the tears come. "I hate being weak, needing to be saved by others. Yet I was the one who put myself in that situation where you were forced to sacrifice yourself to save me."

"There you go again…getting all cocky…" Ryoutarou said, opening his eyes slowly. "It's not always about you."

Kazuto looked up in surprise, "Ryoutarou…how are you feeling?"

"I've been better but I'm alive."

"You're like this because of me."

"What if I told you I didn't do it just for you?" Ryoutarou looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes with a smile. "My dad passed away when I was little and my mom raised me mostly on her own. She wanted a father figure in my life so she dated different people. Some of them were all right but others tried hurting her."

Ryoutarou clenched his teeth. "I remember hating feeling too small or weak to save her. Mom was strong though and she never let us stay in a situation where the relationship was abusive. It never closed off her heart to the next guy either." He turned to Kazuto. "Mom told me one night that when I grew up she wanted me to be the type of guy that was a gentleman, always there for a damsel in distress but also a loyal friend that guys could count on, too. It's why I chose the job of a samurai in SAO all those years ago. I wanted to be someone people could rely on to have their back."

Kazuto nodded, his tears remaining. "You are. I'd be dead a dozen times over if it wasn't for you."

"Mom eventually found Mr. Right and I was able to see the happiness a guy can give a woman if he tries. You do that for Asuna, Kazuto, without even trying which is what's so annoying. When I saw you, the you that you were when Sakura hurt the person you cared about most, I knew I had to protect you not only for your sake but for Asuna's sake. You needed to be able to return to her when she woke up. All of this would be for naught if you died in the process."

Kazuto bowed to the bigger man before him. "I'm sorry, Ryoutarou. I'm so sorry for everything."

"It's not all bad." Ryoutarou grinned like a child on Christmas Day. "I got the last attack bonus."

Kazuto blinked. "What is it?"

Ryoutarou winked. "Ice Strike. It'll be pretty helpful if we run into a fire dungeon, right?"

Kazuto laughed lightly. "Yeah, I'll be counting on you."

SINON

Sinon awoke in an unfamiliar environment and it took her a moment to recognize the hospital employee lounge. Rubbing her eyes she sat up and looked around. Kazuto sat in a chair asleep nearby. The archer got up, her body still heavy from using too much magic, and walked over to him. _His sleeping face is so cute. He looks so gentle and vulnerable._

Kazuto's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, smacking Sinon in the forehead. She started falling backwards when Kazuto took hold of her hand and pulled her into him. Her face heated up when she realized he was holding her and she quickly pushed away.

"K-Kazuto! I'm sorry if I woke you up!"

"It's okay. I needed to wake up anyway." He stood up and yawned, stretching his arms casually. "I meant to give this to you earlier but you were asleep so I sat down thinking I'd wait for you and I guess I feel asleep, too."

Sinon looked at him curiously. "What did you want to give me?"

He held up two golden bracelets with engravings. "I wanted to give you something to show my appreciation for helping Asuna and Ryoutarou. I found this at a vendor and thought you might like them."

Sinon took the bracelets and put them on. "They're beautiful."

"Since we don't use stats, I can't guarantee the effect, but they're supposed to enhance magical ability." Kazuto said, making Sinon look up in surprise. "I've asked a lot of you to stand in as back up healer and you've done wonderfully. I figured it's the least I could do."

Sinon blushed and looked away, fiddling with her new accessory. "They're my friends, too, now right? I'm just glad I knew the spell thanks to Asuna."

"We are your friends and I'm so grateful that you are mine, Sinon." Kazuto smiled at her. "You've come a long way since that first step at Dicey Café. You're strong and calculative, brave and dependable. I don't know what we would have done without you."

Sinon shook her head. "Don't worry. I'm keeping track. When all this is over, you're treating me to that expensive place with all the desserts. I get to order whatever I want and you're paying for it."

Kazuto laughed nervously, "I-I guess that's fair."

SAKURA

Sakura pushed her prisoner down the hall of the next dungeon. She walked the little girl into a cage and covered it with vines, hiding it from view. "Just think, if you're lucky enough you'll get to watch Kazuto's demise from a front row seat!"

Keiko grabbed hold of the bars. "Rosalia, what you're doing is wrong! No amount of revenge is going to undo the past and you have only yourself to blame! Not Kazuto!"

"My name is Sakura and I was never found guilty which means I'm innocent!" she shrieked.

"You weren't found guilty because they couldn't prove which deaths were yours but people who died in the game really did die!" Keiko stood her ground. "You spouted that you were an orange player because the rest of us were idiots for believing our deaths were carried over from the virtual world into the real world but of the 10,000 original players 4,000 never opened their eyes again. You were responsible for some of those deaths and you will be judge by the gods in the afterlife!"

"There is no god, or gods, or ultimate being. I am in charge of what I do and I'm going to see you and all your little friends learn to not only fear me but also learn that what you do, _everything_ you do, is futile when there's always someone more powerful than you on top."

Keiko shook her head. "You're not more powerful than Kazuto. You weren't then and you sure as heck aren't now."

"We'll see. All you need to worry about is putting on your little "save me, I'm all alone and pitiful and weak" bit! It'll bring Kazuto running like a pig to slaughter." Sakura laughed and started walking away. "Not that I'll give him much choice. He thinks things are tough now? I'm going to add more deaths to his conscious until the poor boy can't help but take his own life in retribution! Ahahahaha!"

KAZUTO

Kazuto went up to the hospital's roof and stared up at the burning pentacle in the sky. It mocked him and made it seem like the four dungeons they'd managed to complete amounted to nothing. _I can't think like that. Maybe we just haven't unlocked the skill we need to get up there._ He had more worries than he could count but over-thinking about it now wasn't going to do him any good.

 _I've got three more dungeons on the ground level. The temple I checked out didn't seem too high level, then there's the water temple Asuna scouted, and the last temple that we couldn't find access to. Tomorrow I'll scout the dungeons and see which one opens up. If the pattern continues then Sakura and her Hand of Destiny will let us know which dungeon to do next._

Thinking of Sakura wasn't something Kazuto wanted to do either but he couldn't help it. Yet something else from his past had come back to haunt him. Like with the Laughing Coffin, Kazuto had done what he thought he had to in order to protect others. The prison had been set up to house criminals that the players couldn't deal with immediately. No one wanted to judge others but at the same time they couldn't let PKers run free.

Sakura, or rather Rosalia back then, had killed other players for reasons as petty as money and items merely because they were too lazy to do it themselves. She had no concept of remorse and committing such atrocities had been what changed her into the person she was today. _I can't blame myself for what she was subjected to after leaving SAO. I can't…but part of me does and she knew it would when she told me her story. It's all a new mind game to her. She thinks she's in control but Shinji isn't the type of person to leave witnesses. His intention is to rise out of this the supposed hero. To do that he's going to end Sakura._

He would deal with Sakura later. Now that he knew who he was dealing with, like Asuna said, he could properly prepare. He had to focus on saving little Keiko. _Hang on, Keiko, just wait a little longer. I'll find you. I promise…_ He sent up his thoughts to the stars that sparkled so far away and one of them shot across the sky in response.

"Do you remember that meteor shower we saw on Floor 47?"

Kazuto jumped up and looked over in surprise when Asuna came to join him on the roof. "A-Asuna! Should you be up yet!?"

She laughed when he came rushing to her side. "Sinon did another healing session on me. I feel a lot better."

"Regardless," Kazuto picked her up bridal style and carried her over to where he was lounging. "I don't want you to push yourself so soon."

Asuna allowed him to baby her and joined him in looking up at the sky. "Do you remember Floor 47?"

Kazut sat down next to her and laughed lightly, "How could I forget?"

"It was my favorite spot to go on a date with you." Asuna smiled. "All those flowers…"

"I was so nervous back then I made a complete fool of myself."

"I thought it was cute."

Kazuto held onto Asuna's hand and looked up at the sky. "I had seen meteor showers before then but to this day you are the brightest star I've ever saw fly."

Asuna looked over at him and blushed. "When everything is over, I want to walk through the Kenrokuen Gardens again with you. They say the cheery blossom celebration here is one of the most beautiful in all of Japan."

"Heh, if they don't throw me in jail first."

"If they throw you in jail then I'll become a lawyer and get you out."

"Asuna the lawyer…I can see it. You're definitely smart enough."

Asuna leaned against Kazuto and rested her head against his shoulder. "This quiet time we've been given, let's take advantage of it and rest as much as we can. We've accomplished a lot and we'll keep moving forward until we reach the end."

"Yeah…" _It'll be much harder but I have to try and stay the person I am now, for Asuna's sake. Just like being trapped in SAO changed some people, I can't allow this game to change me. This is reality and if I kill someone, an actual person, I'll be tried as if it were murder. I can't bring that to Asuna's family, my family, anymore than I already have…_


	10. When the Past Comes Back to Haunt You

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Author's Note: I admit the lack of reviews made me lose a little enthusiasm and confidence in this story but the views are still up so people are reading. Maybe I should kill off someone to keep the reader's interest peaked…the idea has promise.

Chapter Ten: When the Past Comes Back to Haunt You

Kazuto remained with Asuna at the hospital until she was officially healed and discharged. Ryoutarou was still recovering but with the nanomachines and Sinon's help he would be released the following day. Kazuto counted himself very fortunate to not having to lose anyone thus far. He knew he would not always be so lucky. Back at their home, Kazuto made Asuna lunch even though she insisted she was well enough to cook.

"You know it's surprise that when you were in SAO you didn't bother to learn to cook but here, in the real world, you're actually pretty good." Asuna teased when he made everyone sandwiches.

Kazuto looked away in mock hurt. "It wasn't like cooking skills were a thing I needed to survive. I had maxed out sword, detection, and hiding skills, and let's not forget the highest reaction time in all of Aincrad that ended up awarding me with Dual Wielding."

"Yeah but ask him to make a sandwich and he'd end up with mush," Rika laughed.

Andrew grinned. "You were lucky you had Asuna that day with the Ragout Rabbit because I was thinking about finding someone to cook it for me if you ended up selling it."

Asuna laughed, "You know we never did get an S-class ingredient after that."

"Unless you count that fishing fiasco on Floor 22," Kazuto served them water and sat down to eat. He lifted the glass up to drink when a familiar scent wafted into his nose. _This smell…_ Gasping he put the water down and saw Asuna begin to drink. "Don't drink that!" He swatted her cup aside and it flew across the room, shattering against the wall.

"Kazuto, what's gotten into you!?" Asuna looked at him with surprised disbelief.

Kazuto looked over at his friends who had already drank from their cups. "Oh no…" No sooner had he said that when both Andrew and Rika began to cough. They clutched at their stomachs and fell over, spasming uncontrollably.

"What's wrong with them!?" Asuna rushed over to heal them. Her spell did nothing and she shook her head. "Why isn't it working!?"

Kazuto grit his teeth and grabbed Andrew from the floor, tossing him over his shoulder. "They've been poisoned by the local water supply. It isn't a simple status effect. Come on, your heightened strength should make it possible for you to carry Rika. We have to get them to the hospital."

"Okay," Asuna bent over and sure enough Rika felt no heavier than a sack of potatoes.

Kazuto opened his phone and made a call. "Chief Haruto—"

"Kazuto! People are pouring in from the stadium and city hall! Everyone's sudden fallen ill. The refugees are beginning to panic."

"It's the water, sir. The water's been poisoned. Does the city water supply come from the two local rivers?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Okay, send your men out to check the water. Tell them to be very careful and not to touch the water themselves. I have two friends that I'm bringing into the hospital. I'll meet you there with your findings." Kazuto snapped the phone closed and made for the door.

"Papa," Yui said when he started to leave. "I should go with you."

"It's not safe Yui and you don't have any combat abilities," Asuna said.

But Yui shook her head. "Then I'll have Papa change my programming to reflect my navigation pixie form from ALO but you're going to need me along. According to the groups' status, whatever is affecting Andrew and Rika is also affecting Sinon. With Ryoutarou still recovering from his injuries, it's down to the two of you. I'm showing increased activity at Uhoin Temple which tells me…"

"That's the next dungeon and that's where they're polluting the river from." Kazuto put the pieces together. "Okay, Yui come with me for now. I'm not certain I can make a navigation pixie but I should be able to come up with something. For now, let's hurry to the hospital."

When the two got to the hospital the emergency room was filled with the sick. Kazuto hated to do it but the best thing he could do to help his friends was defeat the next dungeon. He found the hospital staff lounge room and started working on a way for Yui to aid them with the Uhoin Temple. "Reprogramming you for a different size, let alone trying to come up with a flight engine isn't possible with the time we have. What I'm going to do is take one of my spare cor cubes and create a pair of glasses that will enable you to sense everything that Asuna can. It'll be something like what you were using at school with the camera on her shoulder. You stay here at the hospital where your cor cube can't be damaged but by wearing the glasses you'll be able to dive, so to speak, into Asuna's sensory functions."

Asuna blinked. "Will she be able to affect my real body in any way?"

"No, don't worry about that. The information broadcast is only going to go one way." Kazuto created the glasses on one of the hospital's computers while using remote access to the programs on his computer at home. He handed the new accessory over to Yui. "Keep using the computer here to access my programs. Find out what you can about Uhoin Temple while Mama and I go there in person."

Yui agreed and gave them both a hug before they left to rush to their next dungeon.

"Kazuto," Asuna said as they ran down the streets. "Are the two of us going to be enough to beat this dungeon?"

"In all honesty, I'd rather just have it be me that goes in. You were only just released from the hospital. But I knew you'd never stay behind so it's safer if I have you by my side where I can protect you," Kazuto replied. "As far as beating the dungeon goes, I have to believe Shinji has intentions of less than a party of six going because with something like poison there's no way to control who drinks it and who doesn't. The part that makes me worried is Keiko. She's supposed to be at the end of the next dungeon, if what Sakura said is to be taken as truth. A prize like that can only guarantee a difficult boss."

"So easy dungeon, hard boss. Got it." Asuna followed Kazuto across the bridge that led to the temple and the two skidded to a halt when they saw monsters and guards roaming the streets just outside the temple. They quickly took shelter and peeked around the corner. Back in the day Kazuto would be self conscious about Asuna's chest pressed tight against his back. Now it was a merely a distant thought in the back of his mind. "Guess we found it."

Kazuto watched as lizardmen as well as larger armored alligators went back and forth from the temple to the river mere feet from the temple entrance. A thick tube looking thing pulsed as it transferred something from inside the temple into the river. "That must be what's causing everyone to get sick."

"How much you wanna guess that tentacle tube thingy is connected to our boss?" Asuna pulled back and sighed, unrolling a large piece of paper she'd been carrying across her back.

Kazuto looked at her funny. "What is that?"

"The blueprints for the temple," Asuna said. "While you were busy with Yui in the lounge, I did some investigating on my own."

While she looked at what was essentially the dungeon's map, Kazuto was reminded that here was a woman who used to rank number one in her school and who led the SAO assault team on the front lines for the better part of two years. _Will I ever stop being impressed by the person I'm so lucky to call my wife?_

"Okay we've got two rooms that could be the boss room."

Asuna's voice pulled Kazuto out of his reverie. He blinked and knelt down to review the specs. He regarded the rooms and pointed to one. "This is the sub boss room where we should find the cause of the poison. Over here is where we'll find Keiko."

"How do you know?"

"Because this mark here indicates a sub level, a basement. She's being held here and the floor above her is large enough for the final boss." Kazuto stood up. "Do you still have your poison ward?"

Asuna winked and held up her necklace. "You bet."

"Good. Okay so we'll do it the same way as we used to. When we enter a room, I'll take right, you take left. If the monster is big enough that we both need to fight it then I'll do the blocking and parrying and you switch in to land the hits."

His wife got an evil glint in her eye. "How about we make things more interesting?"

A part of him wanted to refuse considering the seriousness of the situation. Yet when he looked at her he immediately felt his competitive streak rekindled. "I'm listening."

"Do you remember when we used to party we would keep track of how many monsters we beat? Wanna see who wins?"

Kazuto smirked, the gamer blood in him pumping. "Okay, I'll play. What does the winner get?" Asuna came up to him and whispered in his ear. His face lit up bright red and he nodded rapidly. "D-d-d-deal! Deal!"

Asuna giggled and rolled up the blueprints, turning her attention back on the enemy. "All right. Let's go." She moved from cover to cover until she was close enough to get behind one of the monsters. She unsheathed her sword and attacked in the same motion. She got lucky. The lizardman's cor cube was located in his belt. He cried out a moment before he shattered.

Kazuto saw that and came down from a lamppost, ambushing two at once. He slashed with both his swords and two enemies disappeared at once. "That's two to one."

"Only because I showed you their weakness," Asuna stuck out her tongue and deftly leapt out of the way when another enemy turned on them. This one resembled an alligator if he stood up on hind legs with thick armor while carrying a shield and a sword. Asuna attacked but the alligator was strong and batted aside her attacks with its buckler. Her sword arm thrown back the Gator Guard countered with its sword.

Kazuto appeared and blocked with both of his swords. "These guys hit like a speeding truck!" he commented through gritted teeth.

"Can you break through?"

"Ha, don't insult me." He planted his right foot and lowered his shoulders, launching the enemy's sword back and causing it to stumble. "Switch!"

Asuna dove in and aimed for the chest next, hoping to find the cor cube but once again the gator blocked with its buckler. This time, however, her thrust struck dead center, shattering a black obsidian that was designed into the smaller shield. The shield broke and disappeared while the fighter remained. "Wait, what?"

Kazuto wrapped an arm around her and leapt into the air, avoiding the horizontal slash of the monster. "Multiple cor cubes. Shiva, the ice dungeon boss, had them, too."

"Mama!" Yui's voice sounded from the blutooth in the couple's ears. "The cor cube for the gator guard's main form is in his helmet!"

"Okay!" Asuna shouted, almost forgetting that their daughter was on an open call to help them from afar. As one husband and wife came down with their weapons, all three piercing the monster's head. He shattered and the outside of the temple was left quiet. Asuna looked at the pulsing tentacle at least three feet in diameter and pretended to gag. "This is what's polluting the water?"

"There's no way to use cor cubes to such an end so Shinji has to be polluting the water and merely hiding the method for stopping it within the dungeon." Kazuto looked towards the entrance. "Yui, we're going to enter the dungeon and start putting an end to this. Test the water at the hospital and see if it has any high levels of contaminants. My theory is the reason the hospital was less affected is because they have more filters than city hall and the stadium. If that's true then the contaminant is something that isn't usually filtered and in high concentrations is poisonous."

"Okay, Papa."

Kazuto nodded to Asuna and the two entered the dungeon. The temple was comprised of wooden floors and rice paper panel walls. "We're going to need to be careful fighting indoors."

"There are plenty of open areas between the buildings," Asuna replied. "We should be able to draw them outside easily enough." When they walked into the first room they were greeted by smaller enemies than what had been outside. Asuna blinked, "Kobalds?"

Kazuto smirked and rushed forward, taking out two by surprise when he shattered their masks which held their cor cubes. "That's two more for me."

Asuna's mouth fell open. "That's not fair!" She rushed in and as they combated they almost forgot they were fighting for their lives as they started having fun. "This brings back memories, doesn't it?"

"Absolutely!" Kazuto made for the door and ran outside, using a nearby lizardman's back to jump high into the air so he could come down spinning, slashing expertly at the belt, destroying the creature. "You're falling behind!"

"So you think," Asuna grinned and stabbed one lizardman's belt then slashed up to sever a Gator Guard's helmet. Then she produced two throwing knives and shot them passed Kazuto into two kobalds that were rushing towards the fight.

Kazuto gaped at her. "When did you learn _that_?"

Asuna winked and held a finger to her lips. "Maybe if you win our little competition I'll tell you."

Kazuto shivered with pleasure. _She is so sexy sometimes and she doesn't even know it._ They had been so busy competing that neither of them noticed they were standing in nearly a foot of mud and muck. A putrid smell reach Kazuto and he gagged. "Isn't this supposed to be grass?"

Asuna looked around in confusion. "I suppose it's a change of environment same as the ice dungeon, wouldn't you agree?"

Kazuto refrained from answering just so he wouldn't have to breathe more than necessary. He motioned with his head to the left and they pushed through the recreated swamp into the next room.

"I feel like I should take off my shoes." Asuna looked around went on alert when the rice paper walls shimmered and scroll like monsters melted away, coming at Asuna like waves on the wind. "Shikigami!" she exclaimed, trying to slash at them when they came at her. One dodged and wrapped around her arms, pinning them to her body.

"Asuna!" Kazuto came down with his sword and expertly cut through the creature while Asuna was left unharmed. The cor cube was located in the wooden dowel of the scroll so when Kazuto cut the paper, he performed another cut and severed the wood, shattering the creature.

"Thanks," Asuna poised herself for a moment and cut through the remainder of the Shikigami. "I think it's safe to say the Shikigami have a binding effect."

Kazuto laughed. "I'd have to agree with you on that one." He and Asuna cleared that room and two others before they came to the first large room. "Be on your guard…" he walked slowly and saw that the door was open on the far side of the room. From the outside swamp area, a monster arose, his stench the first to alert them to his presence. It looked like a pile of vines and mulch but smelled like garbage.

Asuna gagged and backed up a step. "What is that thing?"

"A swamp monster I'm assuming." When Asuna gave him a suffering look Kazuto added, "Meaning physical attacks won't be very affecting and poison or paralysis status effects might be possible." Coming from the swamp monster was the thick tentacle that led back outside and was infesting the water with who knew what. _We defeat him and the water should clear up. That'll leave just one other objective…Keiko._

Asuna smirked and sheathed her sword. "So magic it is." She closed her eyes and called forth the element ice. She fired ice shards that pierced the monster then added the effect Frozen. The swamp monster became completely encased in ice and for a moment couldn't move.

Kazuto activated his Fire of Hades and swung his sword in a controlled arc, directing the flame towards the enemy. When the creature melted he screamed in pain and began thrashing about, growing more tentacles to put out the fire. They were smaller than the main one and did little against the fire from the underworld.

Asuna began to relax her stance. "Did we get him?"

Kazuto, however, remained on guard. "I don't think so…" As he said that the larger, bulky form burned away, revealing a skinnier decrepit looking creature. It almost looked like a skeleton with pieces of flesh still attached and those pieces were now burned to a crisp. It moaned and stood up to its full height, almost touching the ceiling of the little temple.

"It changed forms!?" Asuna gaped.

"Yeah you sort of missed that part at the ice dungeon, too."

"When we get through this you're going to have to fill me in on everything I missed!" Asuna moved in to fight and find the cor cube but the monster is impossibly agile. It wasn't so much that it moved to evade her strikes but its form shifted left and right to the point where she couldn't touch it at all.

The creature's head turned towards Kazuto and its red glowing eyes seemed to bore through him. _You are a deceiver._

The raspy, wet voice spoke into Kazuto's mind and he shook his head, trying to clear it. _That wasn't my thought._ He looked at the sub boss paying no attention to Asuna whatsoever. The creature seemed to grin at Kazuto's confusion. _How…?_

 _You deceive them…play the Hero…but you are seeped in darkness…_

Kazuto gripped his head now and winced in pain, catching Asuna's attention. "Kazuto?"

"You're just trying to mess with me," Kazuto told the creature.

"What's going on?" Asuna ceased her attack and turned to her husband.

The voice in his head laughed. _You used them, you used them all. Asuna…you used her to party because there was no one else. Ryoutarou you helped only to abandon to certain death. Keiko…you used her to get to Rosalia._

"No, I didn't. Those things happened but you're wrong!" Kazuto exclaimed.

"Kazuto!" Asuna wanted to help but didn't know how.

 _And Sachi…_

Kazuto snapped and cried out, rushing the monster with more fervor than Asuna before him. The monster was elusive, though, and no amount of speed could catch the creature with Kazuto's swords. _How…how does he know about Sachi?_

 _Sachi and the Moonlit Black Cats…they all died because you used them. You use people to shelter yourself, cover your weaknesses, and pretend to be Hero._

"No, no I didn't…I mean…!" Kazuto tried to strike again and again but nothing he did had any effect.

"Papa!" Yui's voice sounded. "He's sending signals to the nanomachines inside you. It's just a trick! Don't listen to him!"

 _The nanomachines…? That's right. It's just a game after all…_

"Use fire, Kazuto! His form changed but his weakness hasn't!" Kazuto heard Asuna shouted.

Kazuto activated his Fire of Hades again and swung his sword widely, hitting not only the monster but also the building itself. He panted with the exertion and still through his blue flame he saw those red eyes still staring at him mockingly. _Be gone phantom._

 _You may defeat me but the past is not so easily forgotten. Those closest to you will see you for what you truly are. The mountain of bodies your glory stands upon will build and build…how much longer can you keep up the act I wonder? Hahahaha…_ The cor cube melted and the monster was no more.

Asuna came up to Kazuto cautiously, unsure if what was affecting him had stopped. "Kazuto?"

Kazuto, good at hiding his true feelings, put on his mask and sheathed one of his swords. "I'm fine." Beneath where the monster had been, the room was now adorned with a very large black hole that led into the basement. The large tentacle connected to the river led to barrels and barrels of some kind of substance. "What is all this?" He cut the tentacle at the point of its cor cube, severing the pollution from its destination.

"It's fluoride, Papa," Yui commented. "The results just came back from my tests. In small quantities, like in toothpaste, fluoride is harmless. In large amounts, however, such as the industrial waste from aluminum refinery plants, it can be poisonous. It's added to water in parts of the United States as a way of freshening breath but it's a very dangerous practice."

Asuna glared at the barrels. "Well we'll let Chief Haruto know about this. For now, the water should clear up." She looked to Kazuto. "Now to find Keiko."

 _You used her to get to Rosalia…_

Kazuto shook his head and forced a smile. "Yeah, let's go get her." They went through the next rooms systematically, heading towards the one other room where Kazuto was certain they'd find Keiko.

 _You let Pina die and then used me as bait to draw out Rosalia. Getting the Pneuma Flower and saving Pina never mattered to you._ Keiko's little voice accused Kazuto and his grip on his sword tightened.

 _You couldn't take a couple more players with you so you chose to abandonus. You just left us there…_ Ryoutarou grit his teeth and his expression in Kazuto's head was full of disappointment.

Then a new face entered his mind's eye. Covered in blood with tears streaming down her face, she reached out to Kazuto even as the monster that would be her undoing struck her from behind. Her mouth moved and at the time Kazuto couldn't hear her but now it was as if her specter whispered directly into his ear.

 _I'll never forgive you…_

"Sachi!" Kazuto exclaimed, gripping his head.

"Kazuto!" Asuna saw him falter and rushed to his aid. She jumped between him and the gater guard and in three slashes cut the monster's mask in two. When they had cleared the room Asuna spun to face him. "What is going on with you? Are you okay?"

Kazuto was sweating and panting, his heart going a mile a minute but he ignored Asuna's concern and moved toward the door, "Sorry. I spaced it. It won't happen again." Asuna looked like she wanted to say more but if he stopped now he wouldn't be able to finish this dungeon. "The boss's room should be right through here." He pulled open the rice paper door and cautiously walked inside. This room was the largest yet and for good reason.

Upon entering the room, the boss' algorithm activated and he stood up. Kazuto froze upon the sight. The design wasn't exact but the similarities were enough that even Asuna gasped at his side.

"The Gleam Eyes? Here!?" she exclaimed.

 _No, it's not Gleam Eyes. We defeated that creature and he disappeared with that world when we defeated Kayaba. But…_ Kazuto tried to tighten his resolve and keep his head in the game but it was a losing battle.

The name of the creature was Naranbaatar: the Gater Guard General. He was twice as large as his adds, which numbered three at the moment, and his tail armor included a spiked mace. He wielded a no dachi like the days of old and he sneered at Kazuto. Roaring, his adds rushed forward first and the boss stood still looking at Kazuto expectantly.

 _Miss me, old friend?_

Kazuto ducked beneath one attack and tried to focus. _It's not the Gleam Eyes. Gleam Eyes had a snake for a tail and it was a purple ram monster. This one is green with a longer snout._

Naranbaatar laughed. _Still trying to convince yourself, eh? Do you know what your partner is thinking right now? She's wondering if you have any skills or secrets your hiding like the last time…_

 _I'm not hiding anything!_ Kazuto exclaimed in his mind. Yet as he said this, the images of Asuna and Ryoutarou from that battle came back to him. At first they had looks of hope in him and his abilities. They wanted to believe he could save them from a desperate situation. Then when he struck for the first time with Starburst Stream, two blades shining in his hands, their looks turned to disbelief. _No, not just disbelief. They looked at me as if I'd betrayed them. Once again I was hiding something from everyone._

"Kazuto!"

Kazuto snapped out of it just as Naranbaatar came down with his weapon. Kazuto performed a cross block and the wood beneath him cracked under the pressure. "Get out of my head!" Enveloped by the past, Kazuto shouted, "Starburst Stream!" and not only batted aside Naranbattar's strikes but also landed 12 of the 16 hit combo.

One of those strikes happened to hit the cor cube located within the beast, Kazuto couldn't even tell where, and the monster shattered. His arms twitched with adrenaline and when Asuna approached him she still kept her distance.

"Kazuto?"

Afraid of what he might do, Kazuto dropped his swords and stumbled back until he hit the wall then fell to the floor. "I can't…I don't know…how does he know about these things?"

Asuna came and knelt before him. "I don't know what's going on, Kazuto, but I'm going to try something, okay?" She put her hands on his shoulders and cast Dispel. A blue fog that had been hidden previously appeared around Kazuto before it evaporated and the swordsman looked at his wife as if she had just appeared out of nowhere.

"Asuna?"

She gave him a small smile. "Do you feel better?"

"Y-yeah, kinda…what happened?"

"Papa was being affected by Confusion. The sub boss Abomination cast it by sight," Yui told them over the open call.

Kazuto, with Asuna's help, put his swords away and noticed the floor panel that led to the basement. "Come on, we still have two objectives. Asuna, you go and find the cor cube for the projector and destroy it. I'll get Keiko."

"Okay." Asuna hesitated but seeing Kazuto's eyes were clear again left to find the projector cube.

Kazuto opened the door and walked down the steps into the basement. It was dark with only a single ceiling lamp lighting the tiny room. In the center of the room was a large cage covered with vines. He walked up to it and activated his infrared. "Keiko? Is that you? It's Kazuto."

Keiko came forward and wrapped her little hands around the bars of her cage. "Kazuto!" she cried. "Kazuto, you came! Please, get me out of here!"

Kazuto used his sword to cut through the lock and opened the door. Keiko came out slowly, looking around for her captor. "It's okay. We're here now."

She leapt into his arms and cried and all Kazuto could do was hold her.

When the three exited Uhoin Temple they were unnerved by the quiet that had settled across the land. Keiko kept close to Asuna as she neared the riverbank. "Um…Kazuto. You're gonna want to come see this."

Kazuto heard his phone beep signaling an incoming call. "Hang on, I gotta take this." He picked up his phone. "Yui, Mama and I will see you at the hospital shortly."

"Okay, Papa."

He hung up with her and answered the other call from Chief Haruto. "Chief, how are things at the hospital?"

" _Since we've found the source of the sickness, we've been able to correct it but we have a new problem."_

"What's that?" Kazuto walked towards Asuna as she frantically waved him over, pointing towards the river. He frowned when he didn't see any waterline and upon closer inspection, he saw exactly what the chief was talking about.

" _The water in the pipes has all dried up! Do you know what's going on?"_

Kazuto opened his mouth to speak but the words wouldn't come out. "The river…it's gone."

" _Gone? How is it gone?"_

"The water…it's all gone." Kazuto could see there had been water until recently but the very bottom of the riverbed stared up at him. "I'll meet you at the hospital in thirty minutes."

" _Understood."_

Asuna looked to her husband. "What are we supposed to do about this?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Knowing Shinji and Sakura, I think this is going to lead us to the water dungeon that you scouted out that first day."

"Kazuto." Keiko looked up with red brimmed eyes. In her hand she had a cor cube. "Sakura gave this to me and said to hold onto it but I don't know what it is or what's going on. She said you would know."

Kazuto took the cor cube and activated it. It spun and floated off his hand until its projector turned on and its programming took over.

Keiko saw it happen and couldn't believe her eyes. Her tears fell anew and she covered her mouth in shock. "Can it be…?" The new creation let out a cry and seeing its master dove into her arms and she happily nuzzled his neck. "Pina! Pina! It's really you! Pina!"

Asuna pulled away from the pair and moved over to Kazuto's side. "She was taken on the way from school one day and doesn't remember anything until she woke up in a cell. Do you think Shinji put the nanomachines in her as well?"

Kazuto nodded. "Pina is evidence enough of that. She's meant to increase our fighting power which tells me the next dungeons are going to be harder than before."

"Kazuto, there's something I have to tell you," Keiko said, her familiar already perched on her shoulder.

"It's going to have to wait. We have to head back to the hospital and regroup with everyone. If the rivers are dried up, our supplies are going to be greatly affected. We have to make plans for the water dungeon as soon as possible." Kazuto turned and forced his chest to unclench. _No matter what lies in my past, I will correct this mistake Shinji's thrown at me and I will save this city. I can't stop now. Too many people are counting on me._

A black raven sitting on a power line cocked its head at him and cawed into the sky. _The mountain of bodies your glory stands upon will build and build…how much longer can you keep up the act I wonder? Hahahaha…_


	11. Rising Tides

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Author's Notes: Thank you everyone for the support. The water temple was a struggle but you get an extra long chapter as a reward for your patience!

Chapter Eleven: Rising Tides

KAZUTO

Kazuto reunited with his friends at the hospital and together they met with Chief Haruto. "Chief Haruto." Kazuto dipped his head in greeting.

"Kazuto, thank you for what your people have done so far. I'm sorry we find ourselves bothering you again."

Kazuto shook his head. "It's a pattern that'll likely continue. As I understand it Shinji gives us an objective and we conquer a dungeon to fix it. By letting us know of the city's needs, you're directing us to where we have to go next."

Chief Haruto sighed and looked away shamefully. "We're doing fine with our food supply right now but if we don't have water I'm afraid our supplies will only last a couple of days."

"Don't worry," Kazuto assured. "My party is healed and we'll regroup back at my home. Once we've properly prepared we'll make for the water dungeon tomorrow morning. Thanks to our recon in the beginning, we already know where it is."

"Oh good. Very well. I'll get my men to divide what water we have left and go out into the city to find anything extra we can from stores and homes." The chief nodded and left with his patrol.

Kazuto turned to his friends. "I know we're all tired so don't feel rushed to prepare weapons and armor right now. Let's head home and we'll come up with a plan." Everyone nodded and headed out of the hospital.

"It seems like every time we succeed, Shinji makes us take two steps back," Rika complained in Kazuto and Asuna's living room.

"But we have no choice but to play by his rules," Sinon pointed out. "Or it will be the innocent civilians who will suffer."

Keiko, having been filled in about everything, sat down on the couch with her knees pulled up against her chest. "About that…"

"So what do we know about the water dungeon?" Ryoutarou asked, his hand absentmindedly scratching his stomach where his stitches had been until that morning.

"The monsters outside were of medium level. With our party back up to full strength we shouldn't have any trouble," Asuna answered.

"Actually, um…" Keiko tried again.

Kazuto shook his head. "If we go in with that kind of attitude then we're going to get caught off guard again."

Keiko tried raising her voice. "I don't think we should…"

"So we tread carefully, scout out the dungeon some more before we attack," Andrew concluded.

"They have Suguha!" Keiko finally jumped to her feet and shouted.

Asuna's eyes went wide, "What? Who does?"

Keiko met Kazuto's expression and swallowed down her fear. "Aside from me, there was one other person in that cell until recently. Whatever they did to me, with the nanomachines… they did to Suguha. I overheard Sakura talking with one of her other guild mates. Suguha is at the end of the dungeon at the graveyard."

Sinon's back straightened at that. "I scouted out the dungeon in the graveyard. I couldn't find a way in."

Kazuto shot to his feet and backed up. "Suguha is…No…why…she had nothing to do with SAO…"

Keiko looked at him. "Kazuto, I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you earlier but everything just happened so fast."

"No, it's all right Keiko. Don't worry about it." Kazuto, unable to get any more words out, removed himself from the meeting and retreated to his room.

ASUNA

Asuna knocked softly on their bedroom door and walked in. Kazuto was pacing next to their bed, speaking in partial sentences.

"I never wanted her involved. I assumed with everyone invited to the launch party that he…but no, he always has to have an ace up his sleeve…" Kazuto clutched his hair and grit his teeth. "It's my fault. It's all my fault. I let her get involved with us inside ALO…if I never did that then…"

Asuna appeared before him and held him by the shoulders, getting him to look at her. "Stop that. Listen to yourself. Suguha was into ALO before we ever got out of SAO. She may have started diving because she wanted to get to know you better but she stayed for her own reasons. None of that can be attributed to some psychopath's evil plans. This is _not_ your fault. Shinji wants to make you unsteady, cloud your head like he did in the swamp dungeon."

Kazuto hugged her and fell to his knees, gripping her as if she would disappear at any moment. "We need to go to the water temple but I want to rush to her rescue now. Chances are we can't gain access to the graveyard dungeon yet anyway but I can't focus on anything else. It's impossible."

"We'll make it possible," Asuna assured him. "We're together again. All of us. We'll finish the water dungeon, get the city's water supply restored, then we'll save Suguha. Just like Keiko we have to believe Shinji won't hurt her. She's all right. I know she believes in you. You just have to believe in yourself."

Kazuto crumbled then and cried into her chest. Yui snuck in then and hugged him too. Eventually he cried himself to sleep so mother and daughter put him to bed.

 _We have to take this one step at a time or we're going to overwhelm ourselves…_ Asuna thought. _If we lose Kazuto this whole party will fall apart._

Leaving Kazuto to sleep with Yui to watch over him, Asuna went back downstairs to continue the meeting. Keiko's tears were drying but she still looked upset. Asuna gave her most convincing smile to the little girl. "Don't worry about it, Keiko. Kazuto will be fine by the morning. The swamp dungeon was just a lot for Kazuto."

"What happened to you guys in there?" Andrew asked.

Asuna sat down. "Everything was going fine until we ran into the sub boss. As far as Yui and I can tell Kazuto was affected by Confusion."

Rika frowned. "What did it do to him?"

"It spoke to his mind, things I couldn't hear. The monster cast it by sight and whatever it said to him…really shook him up," Asuna explained. "I'm…I'm not sure how much help he's going to be come tomorrow now that his sister's involved."

Sinon crossed her arms. "Maybe it's time for us to step it up and help Kazuto after he's done so much to help us."

Keiko hiccupped and wiped her face with the back of her sleeve. "I can train tonight and be ready to help in the morning," she said. "You guys are going to need my buffs."

"I hate to say it but I think you're right. Normally I'm sure Kazuto would say putting an inexperienced player into a raid is a bad idea but we're going to need all the help we can get." Asuna pointed to the map at where the water temple was located. "This is the water temple. Now being water our greatest attack is going to be lightning."

"Well you have the greatest affinity for that 'Lightning Flash'," Rika teased.

"Pina has lightning breathe as well," Keiko said.

"Hold on," Ryoutarou rubbed his chin. "If we're dealing with water, won't lightning attacks hit us as well?"

"Not if we equipped rubber boots," Andrew snapped his fingers. "The vendor over on Central Street had them the last time we went."

Rika bit her lower lip. "You don't think it's like full on underwater kind of water temple, do you? Like the Undersea Temple in ALO?"

"It's hard to say. I technically still have the underwater breathing spell but I can't begin to see how the nanomachines would make it work," Asuna leaned back with a heavy sigh. "Even if they could get oxygen from the water, our lungs would still fill with water and we'd technically drown."

"Great, now I'm going to have nightmares," Rika covered her face with a pillow.

Asuna stood up. "Let's try to get some sleep. We'll take the dungeon slowly. It's all we can do. One way or another we're going to have to defeat it."

Everyone nodded with determination. "Right."

KAZUTO

 _Kazuto covered his face in his hands, too ashamed to look at his sister's face as he mourned the loss of Asuna when Sugou told him they were to be married. Kazuto felt so lost and alone and it had been Sugu who appeared before him, holding him in one of the lowest moments of his life._

 _"Hang in there," she had told him, her voice in his head as clear as it had been that day. "When you love someone that much you can't just give up."_

Opening his eyes from the dream Kazuto stared up at the ceiling, Yui's sleeping body warm at his side. Sugu had always been there for him, even when they were little. They were closer after SAO than they ever had been. She saved him that night, in a way, and he couldn't give up on her now. _I'm coming, Sugu. Just wait for me a little longer._

Kazuto covered Yui back up and left to go downstairs. As he entered the living room he heard hushed conversation suddenly stop and everyone looked up at him with different expressions.

 _The past is not so easily forgotten… Those closest to you will begin to see you for what you truly are._

Kazuto pushed the taunting voice into the back of his mind and sat down to the meeting. "Good morning, everyone," he greeted.

Asuna moved aside so he could sit down. "Hey, we were just discussing the water temple." She gestured to Andrew. "Andrew will tank while Sinon and Keiko remain in the back to handle heals and buffs. The rest of us will be damage dealers."

Kazuto nodded numbly. "I uh…I have a lightning strike I can use along with Sinon and Rika but we're going to have to be careful with the water element everywhere."

Ryoutarou held up a pair of boots. "We already took care of the details. You don't have to worry about a thing." He handed them to Kazuto and grinned widely. "Rubber boots!"

"Oh, thanks." Kazuto took them.

Asuna continued her talk. "Okay, we'll break up into teams of two within the party, Keiko you'll be with Sinon and Ryoutarou until you get a hold of the fighting system. Andrew and Rika are a team and then Kazuto and I will make up the last pair."

Kazuto changed clothes and made final preparations. After breakfast the group stood on the porch. "Okay, let's conquer this dungeon just like we did the others. With all of our group here we're sure to be okay." Though he said the words he knew in his heart he didn't believe them. He knew they had to win but he wasn't sure how much of him would be left at the end. With every trial he felt he lost a little more of himself. _When this is over…who will I really be?_

ASUNA

Asuna led the group into the water dungeon and like she surmised from the outside the design was similar to ancient temples with stone pillars and archways with shiny marble floors. In the first room they encounter globs of slime that, although they were weak, took several physical hits to defeat. Magic was more effective but Asuna didn't want to waste magic and run the risk of her or any of the other casters getting fatigue.

"Use elemental weapon skills if you have them. Fire should be equally effective as lightning!" she called out, keeping everyone focused. Kazuto fought by her side and at moments he seemed like the old Kazuto, valiant leader, while at others he had the expression of a lost child on his face. _Don't worry, Kazuto. I'll protect you._

Another room featured snapping turtles which would have been cute if they weren't five feet high with a six foot reach. When one of them attacked her she tucked her right shoulder back and dodged it, allowing Kazuto to come down on the neck with his sword. The turtle stumbled after losing its head, the projection shattering that portion of the body, but then it began to spin like a top and shot off against the wall. It bounced erratically and came zooming back towards Asuna.

"Look out!" Kazuto came down from the sky and ran his sword down against the turtle's shell. "Lightning Fall!" Sparks flew but eventually his sword pierced and the turtle's image shattered completely. "The cor cubes are hidden within the shells! If you can't penetrate with your weapon, try using the soft spots where the head, legs, or tail come out!"

"You got it!" Ryoutarou's sword heated up with fire and he lunged at his opponent, aiming for the spot on the side of the turtle's elongated neck. The sword ran through the center of the turtle and out the other side. The turtle exploded, shooting Ryoutarou back across the floor.

The group came across the next door, this one larger than the rest. Trying to open it proved futile.

"Looks like we need two keys," Asuna pointed to shaped gaps in each door. "I'm guessing either room to the side of this one has the keys. We should split up." She turned to the group. "Andrew, you take Rika, Ryoutarou, and Sinon. Keiko, you're with us."

"Got it," Keiko, Pina flying nearby, ran with Asuna and Kazuto to the corridor on the right while Andrew's group took the left.

When they entered the corridor Asuna took note of the water decorating the bottom sides of the pathway. The mini canal continued into the next room where waterfalls fell from large cracks in the wall into integrated pools along the sides. Then, from the falls, floating water separated and moved on its own towards the center of the room. It was mostly spherical and moved as one would expect oil to move in water. Portions would break off then reform with the main body.

"They're not aggroing," Keiko realized.

Kazuto remained poised for battle. "Elementals are typically passive unless provoked."

"Well we need that key and I don't see a door leading out of here," Asuna tightened her grip on her rapier. The elementals numbered four now. "Keiko!"

"Okay! Pina: Fire breath!" Kieko commanded.

Pina let out a screech and shot out her cone AOE fire spell, taking out two of the water elementals in one attack. The other elementals began to spasm and spin before water projectiles a foot wide came flying towards the trio.

Kazuto leapt up and spun horizontally, his sword lighting up with his Fire of Hades which he used to evaporate his attack. Asuna struck but her physical attack did nothing but split the projectile in two. It continued its path and came back together around Asuna's head, immediately cutting off her air supply.

"Asuna!" Kazuto rushed to her side when she began to panic, his voice garbled by the water in her ears. She dropped her sword and began clawing at her face, trying to break through. "Eio! Ow!" he barked.

Keiko shouted something and Pina repeated her fire attack, eliminating the last two targets. With its master defeated Asuna's water trap fell lifeless to the floor. She fell on her hands and knees, coughing and shaking. "That was…close…"

A chest appeared and going over to it Keiko discovered a stone key shaped like with a cube bow (the handle) and an elongated bipyramid for the blade. The blade, unlike the handle, was perfectly carved from a crystal prism. "I guess we head back then?"

ANDREW

Andrew and his party encountered a room with similar design but instead of water elementals they came across a different problem. "Eyes open!" he shouted, trying to hit one of the monsters as they came flying past.

Ryoutarou took a swing but the flying fish smacked into his face then flew off back into the waterfall. "Are you kidding me right now!? I'm getting sucker punched by sushi!?"

"Maybe we should just aim for the waterfall!" Rika blocked one fish with her shield then counter attacked with her mace, slamming it into the ground where it shattered. "There can't be that many of them!"

"And they're weak just nimble!" Andrew dodged one and tried attacking with his ax but was a second too slow. "Ryoutarou, can you cast enough fire to take out the falls?"

"I don't think—" Another fish slammed into the back of his head. "—so with water constantly flowing it would put out the flame before it could do much good."

Sinon nocked three arrows and pulled back her string. "Everybody duck!" She released her projectiles before she got confirmations and when the team hit the deck three fish shattered simultaneously mid flight. A chest appeared and she smirked with confidence.

"Or we can just do that," Andrew sighed and replaced his weapon to his back, going over to retrieve the key. It had a triangle bow and a rectangular prism blade. "Our job is done. Let's head back."

Ryoutarou shook his head like a dog to free the rest of the water from his hair. "Anyone else have a craving for sashimi?"

ASUNA

Asuna held the key and nodded to Andrew, inserting it into the appropriately hole at the same time he did. They turned the keys and the large stone doorway parted, revealing a different kind of room. The floor dropped at least a foot from where they stood and was filled with water. Instead of a few waterfalls, the element cascaded down the entire length of wall on all sides. "This is the sub boss everyone so let's get ready. We're going to have limited mobility so let's spread out and give each party member room to fight."

When they reached the center of the room feminine laughter rang out and three figures emerged from the waterfall to the north. The creatures looked like beautiful woman from the waist up, one blond, one brunette, and one with fiery red hair, while their legs were replaced with fish like scales.

Ryoutarou grinned perversely. "Mermaids…I love mermaids. Ow!"

Sinon slapped him upside the head with her bow. "Pay attention."

The women smiled at first, their bodies perfectly balanced while "standing" midway down their fins. "We love company," the blond one, Amber, greeted from her position in the middle of the trio.

"We prefer males most of all," the brunette, Rose, winked at Andrew.

The red one, Teresa, licked her lips and lifted an inviting finger towards Ryoutarou. "I think I'll choose the samurai myself."

The blond one looked at Kazuto hungrily. "Let's show them how we greet guests." She opened her mouth and with her sisters began singing a song with superb harmony and pitch.

Asuna realized it a second too late and threw her hands up to cover her ears. "Not mermaids! Sirens! Don't listen!"

Keiko, Sinon, and Rika all covered their ears but Ryoutarou dropped his sword and opened his arms towards Teresa. "She's so cute…"

Andrew roared with anger and began swing his ax wildly. His eyes found their next target in Rika and began attacking her without restraint.

Asuna gasped and looked towards Kazuto who was also swinging his sword but he wasn't aiming for anyone, just the air around him. "Kazuto!" she called out.

"I can't see!" he exclaimed. "Asuna, I can't see!"

Asuna quickly realized what had happened and tried to come up with a plan. "The song only affects males!"

"But how does it affect them!?" Sinon exclaimed, her bow ready to go but she wasn't sure where to aim. "It seems they were all affected differently!"

"It must cast a random status effect!" Rika dodged another strike from Andrew and leapt back to gain distance. "I'd say Andrew has berserk!"

Ryoutarou walked towards Teresa, as if in a daze, his smile remaining despite the fact that Teresa now had fingernails as sharp as knives and shark-shaped teeth.

Asuna gestured to Keiko. "Stop him! He's been Charmed! I'll deal with Kazuto!"

RIKA

Rika took out her buckler and mace, unsure of how to stop a man like Andrew from cleaving her in two. "Andrew, you're not in your right mind! Snap out of it!" She looked helplessly over at Sinon. "Don't you know Dispel!?" She stumbled when she dodged to the left and cursed at the water lapping around her ankles.

Sinon, however, was avoiding attacks from Rose who had taken the fight to her. The siren slashed with her nails using them like claws against the archer. "I'm a little preoccupied at the moment!"

Rika cursed and spun her mace in preparation. "Okay, just don't complain about your headache later!" She went on the offensive and instead of using her buckler to block and her mace to attack she used her mace to knock aside his overhead swing (aimed at her head) and counterattacked by using her buckler to hit him in the temple. She repeated the move as often as he attacked. Getting an idea she used her mace to hit her buckler at the same time she struck his temple, causing a resounding _GONG_ to ring out. When he stumbled she leapt up, using his knee as a stepping stone to strike with her knee right under his chin. His head snapped up and he fell to the floor unconscious.

Rika took a moment to place a rock under Andrew's head to prevent him from drowning before she rushed to aid Sinon.

KEIKO

Keiko called on Pina to jump on Ryoutarou's head, covering his vision with her wings. "How exactly am I supposed to stop him?"

"It's no wonder you don't have a boyfriend," Teresa sneered at the little beast tamer. "Aside from your hair I couldn't tell you were a girl or a boy."

Keiko growled in annoyance. "My appearance is none of your concern!" She spun around and tripped Ryoutarou down before he could get to Teresa. Leaving him to Pina, Keiko faced off with Teresa. "At least I don't have split ends!"

Teresa shrieked and went after Keiko. The beast tamer, however, was more agile and though she didn't have a lot of power she had long learned she could whittle down an enemy's health over a period of time. Here, in this game, she didn't even have to worry about health bars. All she had to do was find the cor cube. She leapt up, amazed at her own ability in the real world, and attacked various places on the siren's body. "Pina! Exhaust!"

Pina complied and glowed a yellow color, the same hue surrounding Teresa. A second later Teresa's nails all broke and fell to the floor, taking away her attack strength. Teresa screamed and spun her tail in retaliation. Expecting the attack, Keiko leapt up and came down with her dagger, pinning the fins into the floor. "Ha! Gotchya!" she exclaimed.

"Ah, you cretin!" Teresa swore.

"Nuh uh uh. It isn't nice to call people names," Keiko grinned with victory. "Now to take care of Ryoutarou."

ASUNA

Asuna watched as her team handled the problem as best they could. Meanwhile she approached Kazuto carefully. "Kazuto, it's me. You need to calm down. I'm coming up on your left."

"Asuna, what's happening!? I can't see!" he stopped swinging but he still looked back and forth frantically. His irises were covered with a pearl white film.

She came up and put a hand on his shoulder so he knew where she was. "You've been blinded. Ryoutarou was Charmed and Andrew is going berserk." She glanced over and saw Rika knee the merchant in the chin, the larger man going down hard. " _Was_ going berserk," she corrected.

"Asuna, I can't fight like this."

Asuna looked up and saw Amber closing in on them, the smile of victory already on her lips. "Yes you can. You just have to trust me."

That seemed to calm Kazuto and he relaxed with his sword at the ready. "I trust you."

Asuna leaned forward to whisper into his ear. "I'll take the flank, you take the front. Follow my instructions." She leapt up and flipped over Amber when she was close enough and landed behind her.

Amber's attention fully on Kazuto, she could care less about Asuna. Amber came closer her hands cupping his face. Kazuto flinched but held perfectly still, waiting for the signal. "One so strong will make a fine prize."

"He's no one's prize!" Asuna snapped, "Kazuto, Howling Octave now!"

Kazuto instantly performed five thrusts with his sword, his sword lighting up a brilliant red, followed by three additional strikes: one downwards and two upwards. The second upwards one launched Amber into the air where Asuna met her.

"Never underestimate a woman in love." She let out a war cry and performed Mother's Rosario, the eleven hit combo handed down to her by her good friend Yuuki, for the first time since she inherited it. It didn't matter where the cor cube was the combined attacks destroyed it and Amber evaporated leaving not a trace.

"Asuna?" Kazuto asked worriedly.

She came up and put a hand on his arm. "We got her."

Rika stabbed with her mace crackling with lightning against Rose then leapt back and allowed Sinon to attack with lightning arrows. Rose shrieked and exploded, her cor cube effectively short circuited. Keiko was still dealing with Teresa when the group came back together. Pina had Ryoutarou's headband between her teeth as she tried to keep him from interfering.

"Teresa my love!" Ryoutarou reached for her.

Teresa's fin was still pinned to the floor but it also left Keiko unarmed. Rika grinned, hefting her mace in the air. "Don't worry, we got this." The battle lasted less than a minute and the last Siren didn't stand a chance. Her image vanished and Ryoutarou cried until the status effect ended and he was left confused.

Ryoutarou looked around, wiping the wetness from his face. "What happened?"

Sinon came up and patted him on the back. "I'll fill you in later."

"Asuna," Kazuto blinked and rubbed his eyes. "I still can't see."

Asuna frowned and stood before him. "Just give it time. Relax and it'll happen."

KAZUTO

Kazuto closed his eyes, calmed his breathing, and steadied his heart. When he opened his eyes again Asuna stood before him giving him a gentle smile.

"You good?" she asked.

Kazuto nodded with a half grin. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Ohh, my head. I feel like it's been put in a vice and hammered repeatedly." Andrew stood up slowly to join the others.

Rika winced. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'll make it up to you later."

Kazuto regarded everyone and nodded in appreciation. "Good work everyone." A door opened in the stone behind where the Sirens had been. Inside were stairs that led to the second floor of the dungeon so the group continued on.

Asuna looked back at everyone and leaned in to speak with Kazuto. "I'm worried. I'm not sure we have it in us for another boss fight."

"We don't have a choice. The city needs this water. Besides, we're all together now. We'll be fine." Kazuto gave her a reassuring smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and kept walking. He was more shaken by that last battle than he wanted to admit. Having his sight taken away in the middle of a fight would have spelled certain death back in his SAO days. Now it just made him feel vulnerable and weak. He was lucky to have friends at his side who looked out for him.

 _You use people to shelter yourself, cover your weaknesses, and pretend to be Hero._

Kazuto refrained from shaking his head to rid himself of the voice that still echoed in his mind. _It was just a status effect. I'm fine now. Stop dwelling on it, Kazuto!_

"Kazuto, snap out of it!" someone shouted.

Kazuto blinked and suddenly realized everyone was fighting more turtles. He rushed into battle and finished off one turtle that had Sinon pinned under its leg. He broke through the shell and shattered the monster, freeing the girl. He lowered a hand which she gratefully used to get back up on her feet. "You okay?"

She ran a hand across her chest and winced. "I'll bruise but yeah I'm okay. Thanks."

He had been so lost in his thoughts that Kazuto hadn't even realized they had cleared several more rooms until they stood before the final boss room. For some reason Kazuto's heart tightened and he had to force himself to breath. _I'm panicking…why? This is no different than before._ He controlled his hands, which had begun trembling slightly, and after confirming that everyone was ready, pushed open the door.

The floor depressed and was once again filled with water. "Watch your feet, mobility is going to be limited," Asuna advised as Andrew took point. Kazuto hung back praying no one saw his lack of composure. He felt like he was shaking like a leaf.

Framed by blue colored torches, a gurgling hissing sounded and the smell of rotten fish filled the chamber. Ryoutarou squished his face and pinched his nose. "Okay, I think I'm done with the water/sea theme," he said.

The boss towered above the group and seemed to encompass much of the room which included a vaulted ceiling. There was a large waterfall behind it and the mist kept the blue green scales moist. Kazuto looked up at the monster, his stomach hitting the floor. "Oh gods…" _Not him…_

"Kazuto, what is it? Do you recognize this boss?" Asuna asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, I designed him for use in Journea." The boss was reptilian in design with a small head and a large snake like body that fell to the floor and curled once to help keep balance. On either side of his chest large fins had three spines that spread out like wings. The webbing in between was yellow-green and twitched with agitation. "His name is Leviathan…" As if saying the name began the battle, Leviathan's eyes flashed green and he spun around, wiping the floor with a tail whip AOE. Kazuto and company jumped over the massive tail. "He has three main attacks! Tail Whip, Viper Strike, and…" before he could finish Leviathan's webbing shimmered, signaling the next attack. "Tidal Wave!"

Behind Leviathan the waterfall's flow increased and came up, forming a huge wall of water that barreled forward crashing just in front of the party. "Everyone defend!" Kazuto crossed his arms in front of his face and braced himself as the huge wave slammed into them, tossing and turning each fighter, careening them into walls, rocks, and each other. Kazuto held his breath as long as he could, refraining from sucking in water by mistake. When the attack ended and the water mysteriously receded everyone struggled to get back onto their feet.

Kazuto was still on one knee, recovering himself, when he noticed Keiko lying motionlessly on the ground. "Guys, she's not moving!"

Asuna and Sinon attempted to go to her when Leviathan reared his head back, signaling a Viper Strike was coming. Kazuto cursed and ran towards Keiko, picking up the small girl so he could leap back out of harm's way. Andrew appeared in front of them to deflect the three foot long fangs that came flying at them. When Kazuto landed again, Pina flew up to them and glowed a light green. Keiko, enveloped by the same hue, suddenly began coughing up water so Kazuto knelt down and placed her on her hands and knees.

While she was gathering her breath, Kazuto addressed the group. "Lightning is going to be his major weakness but he's equipped with Reflect. We have to disable his ability to use magic."

Andrew cracked his neck. "Not to mention that nasty Tidal Wave attack."

Sinon notched an arrow and pulled her string. "I can lock his magic but you've got three minutes to finish him off."

Asuna nodded. "And we'll still have to worry about his Viper Strike attack."

"Sounds like we've got a plan." Kazuto pulled out his swords and widened his stance. "Let's do this!" Sinon released her arrow and struck Leviathan's chest. Red lightning lanced over Leviathan and he was instantly silenced. "Now!"  
Ryoutarou's sword lit up with fire as he aimed for the lower half of Leviathan's tail while Rika slammed into Leviathan's torso with her lightning. Andrew chopped at the fins along with Asuna while Kazuto went for the head. He leapt up into the sky and said, "Lightning Fall!" Then he came down and struck Leviathan through the skull.

Leviathan cried out and whipped his head back and forth, throwing Kazuto off him and into the air. Before Kazuto could right himself, Leviathan snapped with his teeth and caught the swordsman in his jaws. Kazuto felt the fangs bite into his leg and let out a wail of pain. He reacted and brought up his swords into Leviathan's eyes, stabbing deep into the large orb. Leviathan immediately let him go and Kazuto fell to the floor where he bounced once. His leg bled profusely.

Asuna landed by his side and began healing him. "Don't let up! We have to find that cor cube!" she ordered to the rest. Kazuto's poison ward lit up, signaling its attempt to protect against the deadly status affect. Leviathan defended well and before Kazuto was healed, the boss' silence ended. Rika was midair with her mace crackling with energy when she noticed the change but it was too late.

"Oh crap!" Unable to pull back her attack Rika struck with lightning and Reflect bounced it back over the entire party. Kazuto's scream was melded with everyone else'. Leviathan immediately followed up with Tidal Wave against the still spasming group. Kazuto tried to dodge but his vision swam and he felt nauseous.

The water came at them and Asuna acted quickly. She grabbed hold of Kazuto just as both of them were sucked into the waves. Kazuto tried to hold his breath but the poison made his reactions sluggish. He was afraid he was going to suck in water when he suddenly felt Asuna's lips on his. She began breathing for him, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, just before everything went black.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	12. Disturbing the Dead

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Chapter Twelve: Disturbing the Dead

Kazuto and his party entered the next room of the dungeon. Everyone was on alert. A single chest occupied the end of the room. Ryoutarou walked confidently over to open the chest but as soon as he touched it alarms went off and the door they had just walked through slammed shut on them.

"It's a trap!" Asuna exclaimed.

Kazuto's stomach dropped to the floor and he spun around as other doors opened allowing monsters to enter and overwhelm them. _This is just like before!_ His group fought back, unable to do anything else, yet one by one they fell to the enemy's blades. Kazuto reached forward to Keiko and Rika, Sinon and Ryoutarou, then Andrew before they all went down. He blocked one attack aimed at Asuna before someone struck her from behind. Her body jolted and fell to the ground.

With tears in her eyes she glared at Kazuto, "I'll never forgive you."

Kazuto shot up in his bed, his leg stinging with the action. He was covered with sweat and looked around frantically on alert.

"Papa!" Yui exclaimed, coming over to him. "It's okay! The battle's over!"

Kazuto forced himself to calm down but his arms still shook with adrenaline. It was clear he was safe at home in his bed but he didn't remember how he got there. "What happened? Where is everyone?"

Yui sat down and handed him a glass of water from the nightstand. "Mama said you were badly injured by the water dungeon's boss. You were hit with poison and paralyze, not to mention almost drowning in Leviathan's Tidal Wave attack. She and Sinon healed you up as much as they could before they left."

Kazuto blinked. "Left? Left where?"

Yui shrank away before answering, "Before they left to go to the graveyard dungeon."

"They _what!?_ "

Rika stuck close behind Andrew, her eyes jetting back and forth across the tombstones. Some were larger than others and the one they were looking for wasn't a grave so much as a family crypt. Sinon had followed her directions to the dungeon via the map Kazuto had given everyone but had been unable to find access inside.

"Is anyone else as freaked out about this as I am?" Rika whimpered.

"We haven't entered the crypt yet so there should be any monsters out here," Andrew replied, trying to calm his friend.

While they walked, it was Ryoutarou that swallowed hard and said, "I think I have to side with Rika on this one. Does it look like the dirt next to those tombstones was recently um… disturbed?"

"Don't say that Ryoutarou!" Rika shrieked.

Asuna paused and looked around with a frown. "Actually I think he's right."

Sinon didn't need anymore urging to take out her bow and knock an arrow. "I have a bad feeling about this."

The first noise to alert the party that something was amiss was the sound of fingernails against rock. Hands appeared from the piles of dirt first and groped around to use the nearby tombstones as leverage to free themselves from their prisons.

"Asuna…Can we go home now?" Rika whimpered.

But the party leader shook her head, preparing her rapier for battle. "It's not real. Remember that. They're just projections."

The bodies emerged one by one and upon seeing the party began to drudge toward them with jagged steps. Andrew's arm shot up to cover his nose. "Can the cor cubes recreate smell because I am getting some serious undead nastiness right now."

Asuna, needing to restore party moral, took the fight to the nearest zombie. She aimed for the head and stabbed with her rapier through the eye socket. Her blade easily ran through but something wasn't right. The sound, for one, was different than battles before. Second, was the resistance her blade felt when she struck through the back of the head.

The zombie jolted and a black liquid dripped ever so slowly down Asuna's pristine blade from its eye socket. _That's never happened before._ Her understanding of the cor cube technology didn't involve blood or liquids of any kind. _But that means…_ She pulled her weapon free and leapt back to her party, flicking her wrist to free her weapon of the grim without looking. The realization that she had just stabbed an actual human turned her stomach and she threatened to fall apart right there. "We…we have to go."

"What?" Ryoutarou asked.

"We have to run! Now!" Asuna grabbed Sinon, throwing her back in the front as she got everyone up to a running pace. When they neared the large statue marking the crypt, they saw a door had been opened in the ground, revealing a staircase that went deeper inside. After everyone was underground, Asuna closed the door and Andrew wedged the door to prevent entry.

"How?" Rika asked with a shaky voice. "How is this even possible?"

Keiko held onto Pina tightly, also clearly shaken. "And if there are zombies out there…what is waiting for us in there?" she said as she pointed down a dark, barely illuminated corridor leading deeper into the crypt. "There might be hundreds of bodies in there."

Asuna tried to keep up her bravado but the image of the person whose remains she just defiled was still fresh in her mind. "Just remember we're here for Suguha. We can't stop now. If we can't stop…whatever _those_ are then we'll just run passed them." Everyone nodded and proceeded with extreme caution.

"Papa you can't go! You aren't well enough yet!" Yui pleaded with the swordsman.

"They went in alone. I have to help them. Something bad might happen." Kazuto shrugged Yui off and made for the front door. His leg was still injured and it hurt to put full pressure down on it but he wouldn't remain behind. His dream…he'd die if it ever came to pass again. He looked down at his frightened daughter and kissed the top of her head. "How about I have an open call to you and you can use the glasses to help keep an eye on me?"

Knowing she wouldn't be able to convince him to stay it was as good of a compromise as any. "Okay but hang on…" Rushing back into the house she returned with his bluetooth. "The hands free approach is always safest."

"Haha, deal." Kazuto flexed his leg once he hit the porch and ran out of his barrier and down the street towards the graveyard. He didn't get far before he began detecting other presences. He stopped running and looked around suspiciously. "You guys can come out now. There's no use in hiding. I know you're out there."

Four individuals appeared from rooftops and alleyways to stand before Kazuto, blocking his forward progress. He didn't know them by name but he knew who they were. "Titan's Hand."

"It's Hand of Destiny now!" one of them corrected angrily. "And with you injured like that there's no way you'd ever make it to your sister so we came to put you out of your misery."

Kazuto took out his swords and glared at each of them. "You can try. Be my guest."

Of the enemies set against him there were two swordsmen, a duel ax wielder, and a mace wielder with a buckler. None had the advantage of range and Kazuto had already seen them fight once before. They came at him from all sides and though he dodged some those he blocked hit with force far stronger than their bodies should have been able to inflict. The person with the buckler slammed him in the left side, forcing his weight onto his bad leg. His leg collapsed and he rolled away, favoring it slightly.

One of the swordsman sneered. "We're not who we once were! We're better than before and more importantly we're better than you."

Kazuto grit his teeth against the pain. "But your abilities aren't truly yours, aren't they? You guys have been outfitted with Shinji's tech."

"So what? So have you."

 _It's not the same, though. Sakura was right. I'm not at a level where I can fight them right now. So the question now is how to get away,_ Kazuto thought.

"Papa!" Yui's voice called out from his earpiece. "Use Sonic Leap and combine it with lightning. You should have a high enough probability to inflict Paralyze."

"Got it." Kazuto powered up his sword and dashed forward off his good leg. He flew through the middle of his enemy and out the other side. Behind him a shock wave blasted out, shattering the windows of nearby buildings. The four guild members cried out and fell to their knees when the paralysis took affect. "Thanks Yui. Seems like that did the trick!" His enemy handled for the moment, he continued on towards the graveyard.

When Kazuto came within view of the cemetery he saw several figures walking around and slowed his run to assess the situation. He refrained from taking out his swords when nothing aggroed upon his approach. The grounds had several holes and the stench that filled the air made Kazuto gag. "What the heck happened here?"

His voice triggered their attack algorithm and several turned towards him. Wishing to avoid battle as much as possible he rushed forward towards the crypt. A zombie stepped into his path and he skidded to a halt. His leg protested the movement and he fell to the floor. Looking up expecting an attack Kazuto was unprepared when he looked up into _those_ eyes.

Seeing her here, now, in this form sent his mind into a spin. "I-it can't be…" She had short black hair and one of her eyes was completely white. Her hair was missing in small patches and her skin was a mixture of deathly gray and gangrene. "S-S-Sachi…?"

Upon hearing the name the zombie shied back and ran away, disappearing into the graveyard dungeon. Kazuto was slow to get up but his head still couldn't get a hold of what he had seen. The other undead closed in on him, moving much slower than Sachi had, and Kazuto slashed his swords out in a circle around him trying to make space and push through them.

His sword cut through six zombies and the upper halves of the bodies fell to the floor in a pile of slime and goo. The legs were quick to follow and Kazuto backflipped out of the circle of devastation. "They're not projections… how are they not projections…?" His stomach finally won him over and he vomited whatever was in his stomach all over the floor. "How…?"

"Papa, the nanomachines! Shinji must have dug up the remains then used nanomachines placed on the bodies to reanimate them," Yui explained.

Kazuto shook his head in disbelief. "But Sachi…how is she here?"

"I don't know, Papa, but she ran into the graveyard dungeon using a secondary entrance! It's located in the crypt to the right of the main one."

Certain he would be unable to fight anymore of the zombies coming his way Kazuto followed Yui's directions and entered the graveyard dungeon…

Asuna and party came into the next room and were immediately slammed to the floor by an unknown force. Looking up she saw three robed figures chanting with staffs. It was the magical spell Gravity. Their faces looked a lot like the rest of the undead they had been fighting for the last hour. "Undead priests, two o'clock! Sinon, can you get any silence arrows into the air?"

Sinon grunted and rolled onto her stomach. "No but thankfully I don't have to get them into the air!" She took out an arrow and holding her bow against the floor she fired one arrow three times in the same fashion. It flew along the stone floor and embedded itself in the priests' feet. Their spell ended and the group was released.

Ryoutarou and Andrew worked quickly and rushed forward, using weapon skills to injure the bones enough that they wouldn't be a threat.

"Good work everyone!" Asuna avoided looking at the remains which still twitched on the ground. _Damn that Shinji for making defilers of all of us!_ She saw the room had other remains lying in graves carved into the stone walls. These were simply too far decomposed to be reanimated.

"Hey, Asuna, you better come see this." Rika brought her attention over to a stone pedestal that had engravings for a spell carved into the top of it. "Does this say what I think it says? Some of the kanji are different but…"

Asuna, who had taken several languages as well as varied dialects of Japanese, sped read through the spell and her heart leapt into her throat. "Yeah, which means we're running out of time. The full moon is tonight. Come on, let's go!" She led them through the doorway on the opposite side into a larger room signifying a much harder fighter.

"Sub boss room?" Ryoutarou questioned.

The various scattered bones along the floor rattled and came together like some decrepit puzzle and before long a two story tall Bone Dragon roared to initiate his battle. Asuna blanched at the sight. "Yep, Ryoutarou, I think that's a safe assumption."

Kazuto walked through the corridors looking around for any of the others. "Yui, how far behind was I from the group?"

"Thirty minutes from the time you left the house, however Hand of Destiny delayed you a further fifteen minutes so…"

"I got it. So it'll be a while before I catch up." He tried to move quickly but he didn't see any footsteps showing someone passing before him so it was possible his entrance was a completely different path than what the others were using.

"Papa, I've been thinking about it," Yui's voice said to him. "There are two options regarding Sachi's identity. It could be that he simply reanimated the bodies here to make it seem that Sachi's actual body was brought back to life when in fact it's simply another cor cube."

Kazuto swallowed hard. "And option two?"

"Based on his actions thus far, it is not a great leap to assume that Shinji used his hack into government databases – like he admitted back on day one – to learn of Sachi's final resting place and…"

"And bring her into Kanazawa, forcing me to confront her." His stomach threatened to express all over the crypt floor but he kept moving. "Even with the nanomachines moving her body he can't access her mind and memories, her spirit has long departed from this world." His eyes caught Sachi crossing the corridor far ahead of him. It was only a few seconds and Kazuto wondered if he was certain of what he saw. Still his legs ran forward and when he got to the point where he saw her he turned right and followed her down another hallway into a large room.

There the door slammed behind him and he was locked inside with his past. Sachi stood with her back to him until she heard him approach then she turned around and looked at him.

"You could have warned us before we went in," someone accused him. Kazuto turned around and saw Ducker of the Moonlit Black Cats glaring at him. "If you had I never would have gone inside to open the chest!"

"D-Ducker…you can't be…" Kazuto shook his head. The youth's form was just as he remembered, not green or gray from being undead.

"You lied to all of us!" Ducker shouted.

Suddenly the others were there too: Sasamaru, Tetsuo, and Keita.

Tetsuo grit his teeth and pointed at the traitor in their mist. "You were strong enough to save us all but you got tired of us. You _wanted_ us to die!"

"No, that's not…!"

Sasamaru crossed his arms and shook his head. "We never should have trusted you!"

Keita's look was the darkest of them all. "You betrayed us all."

Kazuto looked over at Sachi expecting her to accuse him as well but she merely brought forth her spear. The other four members of the Moonlit Black Cats struck their weapons rhythmically against the ground as Sachi came forth to stand before Kazuto.

"Atone for your sins," her voice came out distorted and Kazuto could see her neck vibrate with the manipulation.

Still her voice sent shockwaves through his body and he found himself unable to move. _I…I can't give up now…I'm here for a reason, aren't I?…Just can't remember what that reason is…_

Sachi pulled back her spear and thrust it forward as Kazuto closed his eyes and accepted his fate.

A loud clang was heard as Asuna batted aside the spear and kicked the zombie away from Kazuto.

"No, don't!" Kazuto reached forward as Sachi retreated out a secret passageway that opened up where she disappeared. His friends quickly dispatched of the other threats and as one the Moonlit Black Cats shattered as their cor cubes were destroyed.

Asuna looked at Kazuto with a mixture of confusion and anger. "What do you think you're doing!? You weren't even trying to fight!" When he didn't reply she hauled him to his feet by his collar.

"Asuna!" Rika exclaimed, unsure if she needed to intervene.

Asuna glared at Kazuto but he wouldn't even meet her eyes. "We came here because we were worried about you. We came trying to save Suguha _for you!_ If you're not going to fight then you'll just slow us down. Go home."

Asuna released him and spun away while Sinon and Rika moved forward.

"Let me take a look at that leg," Sinon offered quietly. "My magic should have replenished enough by now."

Rika bit her lower lip. "Please forgive Asuna. We just defeated the sub boss and we found out an ancient spell is going to be cast by some necromancers when the full moon is at its highest. But the spell…" She waited until Kazuto finally looked up at her. "It requires a sacrifice."

When Sinon was finished with her healing spell Kazuto got to his feet and stared into Asuna's back. He saw her sigh heavily and turn back towards him. "They're going to kill Suguha, Kazuto, if we don't stop them."

Kazuto blinked and focused at the problem at hand. _That's right. My sister is here…_ He put a hand on her shoulder gently. "I'm sorry. You're right. I didn't have my head in the game."

"Just who were those guys, Kazuto?" Andrew asked.

Kazuto shook his head. "Nobody. Let's just go." He then nodded to Asuna. "You got them here. After you, Leader."

Asuna accepted the decision and started down the corridor Sachi opened. Kazuto brought up the rear and thought about what he would do. _I'm going to have to deal with her eventually and if it comes down to Sachi or my sister, I'll always choose my sister._

"Papa, are you okay?" Yui asked him.

He'd forgotten about Yui. "Yeah I'm okay. Sinon healed me up and I regrouped with the others."

"Okay, be careful, Papa."

Kazuto provided back up while the others fought skeleton knights, undead mages, and more zombies. The group did what they could to handle the creatures and left the zombies to deal with later. All too soon they cleared the smaller rooms and came upon the boss room. The large cavern was decorated with candles and tabards of a magic sect long ago lost. A body lay on the table in the center of the room and at its base a purple magic circle was carved into the floor.

"Suguha!" Asuna exclaimed.

The girl remained unmoving and in front of her Sachi stepped forward. She raised her hands and began chanting in a foreign tongue. The magic circle lit up and when she was done Sachi raised an ornate dagger above her head and walked up to the sacrificial table.

"Stop her!" Asuna ordered. The group rushed in intending to save Suguha which is when things changed. Sachi's form rose into the air and around her a secondary form materialized. Asuna skidded to a halt. "What's going on!?"

With a large red robe, billowing sleeves, and a hood that hid the face from view, Kazuto instantly recognized the boss from his many nightmares but it was Ryoutarou that said it,

"The Hollow Avatar?" he said in disbelief. "The boss for the 100th floor of Aincrad?" He turned to his friend, "Kazuto, was this part of Journea?"

"No, Shinji got these specs directly from his father's data no doubt."

Andrew's face was dotted with sweat. "The Skull Reaper was hard enough…can we really defeat this guy?"

Kazuto felt the same fear Andrew did. This boss was what started everything in Aincrad, the day everyone found out they couldn't log out. This was the form their nightmares took for two years, their goal to defeat in order to be freed from their digital prison. "We have to. If we don't Suguha will be sacrificed."

"Papa!" Yui cautioned. "The boss' cor cube…it's being projected from inside…It's inside Sachi or rather I think it's the top piece of her chest armor, located right below her throat."

Asuna spun around, "Sachi? From the Moonlit Black Cats?" Kazuto nodded numbly. "It…It's just a cor cube, right? Like the others?"

Kazuto looked up at the boss and narrowed his eyes. "I don't think so."

Her eyes welled up and she reached a hand towards him. "Kazuto…I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It doesn't matter. I won't choose my guilt over my sister. I may end up in hell for what I did that day and what I'm about to do but my sister shouldn't have to pay that price." Kazuto took out his swords and got into his fighting stance. "Let's go everyone!"

Following his lead the group began their attacks, trying to figure out Hollow Avatar's attack pattern. When the boss spun around wind blades attacked the group in a painful AOE and the wounds bled profusely, more than they should have. Kazuto had several cuts and he began to slide in his own blood trail.

"Papa! He inflicted the status effect Bleeding with his attacks! And it's stacked three times! Dispel should stop the wounds from gushing!" Yui exclaimed.

Kazuto turned to his healers. "Dispel! Quickly!" Sinon, Keiko, and Asuna jumped to comply and Kazuto shook his head to stop from being dizzy. His wounds stopped bleeding but he still felt the effects of the blood loss. "We can't afford to get hit with that attack again! We end this now!" He looked to Keiko. "Have Pina cast Quick on me!"

"O-Okay!" Keiko looked to her dragon familiar. "Pina! Quick!"

Pina let out a screech and Kazuto was wrapped in a yellow light.

Kazuto readied his weapons and dashed forward, charging through the Hollow Avatar's form until he broke through to the inside. Darkness surrounded him as the cor cube only projected solidarity around them. Kazuto replaced his swords to his back and approached his target carefully. Sachi was there, her form illuminated by the cor cube setting against her chest. She still had her dagger in her hand and looked at him evenly.

"You must atone for your crimes," she raised her dagger and Kazuto closed his eyes as the weapon came down.

At the last moment Kazuto opened his eyes and deftly caught her wrist as it came down. "Yes, I will atone and I'll start by freeing you. You were targeted because of me and that I will have to answer for." He turned the dagger around in her grasp and stabbed the cor cube shattering it. He could think of only one solution that would free Sachi's body. Without removing his sword he cast the sword skill, "Lightning Fall."

Lightning exploded between them and Kazuto cried out in pain while the nanomachines within the reanimated corpse were effectively electrified. Sachi collapsed into his arms and he fell from the air onto the hard stone floor.

"Kazuto!" Asuna rushed forward along with everyone else. Kazuto grunted and slowly sat up, Sachi still in his arms. "Is she…?"

"I destroyed the nanomachines using electricity. Normally such a method wouldn't work as effectively but I knew that being a corpse the depth of implantation couldn't be as thorough as it had been with us. Shinji, or those working for him, would have only been able to plant them in shallow points, like her skin." Kazuto picked her up and laid her in one of the wall crevices that were still empty. "I pray your spirit is able to rest peacefully now."

Someone moaned and brought the party's attention back to the sacrificial table. "W-where am I?" It was Suguha.

Kazuto came over to her and smiled weakly. "Hey, Suguha."

Her eyes went wide and she wrapped him in a hug. "Big brother!"

"Do you remember anything about your capture?" he asked her.

Suguha shook her head. "Not much I'm afraid. I remember heading to Kendo class one morning but I guess I never got there. I was distracted because it was the day your invention was supposed to launch and I wasn't able to make the party. We were supposed to have a tournament that night and grandfather wouldn't let me out of it to see you. I was so upset…" She dug into her pocket and pulled out a cor cube. "When I woke up next I was in a cage and this woman was glaring at me, said something about using me against you but I'm sorry I didn't understand what she was talking about. She said this was for you."

Kazuto took the cor cube from his sister and hit the power button. It spun and lifted into the air, projecting a giant word above the group.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Shinji's voice projected ominously from all over. "Congratulations Kazuto! You've officially completed all of seven ground dungeons more than half of the obstacles set against you. As a reward, I'll give you a special skill needed to complete the remaining six. No need to thank me."

At the end of the message an ultrasonic signal went out, barely perceivable with the normal human hearing range. Kazuto felt his back twitch and move before the pain began. He fell to the ground, along with everyone else, as nanomachines and cor cubes moved just beneath his skin, activated by the signal. Nanomachines latched onto his shoulder and back muscles while tiny cor cubes broke through the skin along his spine at the height of the pain. They projected something new and Kazuto arched his back as the new addition demanded freedom.

The pain ended as he collapsed to the ground, in too much shock to immediately look around. When he did open his eyes he saw their new transformation and looked partly behind him to see if the same were true for him. Sure enough, large black angel-shaped wings spread out to either side of him. They responded to the new brain signals Kazuto sent and moved up and down at his command.

Asuna pushed off the floor to sit on her knees. Behind her white wings opened and closed as she tested their maneuverability. Rika had pink wings, Ryoutarou red, gray for Andrew, light blue for Keiko, green for Suguha, and blue for Sinon. Asuna looked at Kazuto with disbelief. "Is this seriously happening right now?"

Kazuto got to his feet and tried flapping with his wings but the recently opened wounds in his back didn't allow for excess motion and he was forced to stop. "If this is how we get to those dungeons in the sky then it's worth a shot but not now. We need to regroup at the house and inform Suguha of everything that's going on."

It took a bit but Kazuto was able to retract his wings, signaling the cor cubes to stop projecting them with his mind. _A lot's happened and I still haven't wrapped my head around most of it. Then there's integrating Suguha into this mess. Uh, I'm tired already…_


	13. Old Acquaintences

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Chapter Thirteen: Old Acquaintances

KAZUTO

Wanting to give his sister time to adjust after explaining the situation to her Kazuto went into the back yard. He knew he should try and get some sleep but his mind was too busy. This whole mess started over a week ago. They had been through so much already, blood had been spilt and his friends had been hurt. The old Kazuto would have wanted to press on without his sister but somehow he knew Shinji wouldn't allow it.

Kazuto angrily punched the side of his house, focusing on the pain as it shot through his arm. _Always by his rules. Always his way._ He hated it yet in the end, with Asuna's father's life dangling in the balance, what choice did Kazuto have?

Closing his eyes, the swordsman focused on his back and after a little discomfort his large black wings spread out to either side of him. The thought process to move them reminded him of when Suguha had taught him to use his fairy wings without a controller in ALO. He remembered her placing her hand on his back to indicate where he should focus moving his muscles. The process wasn't much different now.

While concentrating, Kazuto could lift his wings up and down or angle them vertically and horizontally. The harder maneuver was moving his right wing different from his left wing which he would need to learn to do thoughtlessly if he had any chance of aerial combat. That was what he mostly feared. He and his comrades would need to be able to control their wings and flight pattern while dodging enemy attacks and launching a counter offense.

He continued moving his wings this way and that for a while until Asuna came out the back door to join him.

"You're still out here?" she questioned.

"Yeah, I needed to know what these things could do," he replied, indicating his wings.

His wife expression turned gentle and she came up, carefully moving her fingers up and down his large feathers. "They're so soft…it's hard to imagine it's not real." When she saw him blushing she grinned, "You look cool with them."

Asuna closed her eyes and summoned her own wings, the view of which gave him pause. He had always found her beautiful, from the time they'd teamed up with the first floor boss to the time when she started wearing the white and reds of the Knights of the Blood Oath guild. Though they had been in dire straights upon their reunion in ALO when he'd rescued her from Sugou, he had not missed the fact that the she was ethereal as Titania, her fairy wings panning out behind her. Now that beauty was magnified.

Asuna caught him staring and immediately blushed. "What?"

He came up and kissed her, giving her a gentle hug afterwards. "I just can't believe how far we've come: you and I. I look forward to growing old with you because even when we're eighty or even one hundred years old, you will be the most beautiful angel at my side."

"Kazuto…"

Getting down to business Kazuto looked up at the sky, that ominous five pointed star glowing high above, "We have to learn to fly but more importantly we have to learn to fight in the sky. If any one of us is injured, a wing cut off or we lose our concentration, we're going to fall out of the sky and the fall will kill us."

Asuna came up and put her hand on his shoulder. "So we train. We learn how to use our wings until it comes as easy as breathing."

Kazuto narrowed his eyes when he saw something in the sky and instantly gasped. Without warning he flapped his wings and took off into the air.

"Kazuto!" Concerned she flapped her wings and after a few tries was able to fly in a straight line.

Kazuto took out his swords and looked up in horror when he saw hundreds of monsters come out of the five dungeons set at each point of the star, all of them airworthy and all of them heading down into the city. "Incoming!" Having had the streets cleared for so long, he had not been expecting reinforcements. Growling he clashed with the first wave of monsters which appeared to be giant bees. Around him he could see other flying monsters such as dragons, harpies, and griffons.

The giant bee had high speed and maneuverability with two separate kinds of attacks. From the front it had two large sickle-like arms and in the back it had a large black stinger. Kazuto tried to cut through the sickles but they were as strong as any sword. During his exchange the bee spun around and slice Kazuto's arm attempting to inflict poison but it was slight enough that his ward necklace negated the effects. He stabbed his sword through the bee's large black, honeycombed eyes and the monster shattered.

In the corner of his eye he saw his beautiful Lightning Flash Asuna tear through the monsters. She moved quickly but unfamiliar with such large wings she mainly performed thrusts directly in front of her to prevent injuring herself. It made her look like a deadly valkyrie from legends of old.

 _I'm glad I'm on her side,_ Kazuto thought in amusement.

Amidst all the chaos, five humanoid, robed figures began chanting. They had four golden wings, two large and two small, spread out behind them keeping them airborne as they continued to cast their spell. Sensing danger Kazuto flew as fast as he knew how hoping to interrupt them. Other monsters diving down made him awkwardly dodge left and right to avoid colliding with them. Most of them pain him little attention which was for the best. He couldn't fight them all, after all.

As he closed in on the spellcasters a gust of wind began swirling within their circle. The wind grew and grew until it began to tighten and funnel, picking up nearby debris. The dust devil became so large it looked like a tornado. Poorly made buildings down below were ripped apart.

 _If that gets any closer to downtown, the hospital and shelters will be in danger!_ Even within the cor cube, Kazuto's technology couldn't protect them from something of this magnitude. Once he got within range, Kazuto cut through the closest Angel Mage. The cor cube, located in the center of their back, was destroyed and the spellcaster disappeared. The tornado, however, remained spinning ominously.

Kazuto saw Asuna taking the fight to another of the Angel Mage's but when he attempted to go to her aid the tornado's massive winds caught his wings and he went spiraling chaotically away. Unable to straighten out, let alone figure out which way was up, Kazuto slammed into something hard and passed out.

"Kazuto! Kazuto!"

Asuna's voice pulled Kazuto from unconsciousness and he winced as his head pounded painfully. A warm liquid poured down his neck and back. "Asuna?"

"Thank goodness you're all right!" She hugged him enthusiastically, her frantic pitch ringing within his already hurting skull. "I saw you go down but it took a while to find you!"

Kazuto used the wall behind him as well as Asuna's help to get to his feet and look around. Several of the released monsters were already swarming and filling the skies. Thankfully it didn't seem too many innocent people were around for them to prey upon. "The tornado?"

"It's still out there but it's moving slowly." Asuna, her wings retracted, helped Kazuto out of the alleyway they were in and back out onto the street. "We need to get back to the house and regroup with everyone."

Kazuto, however, shook his head…and immediately regretted the motion. "We need to begin investigating the next five temples. Chances are one of them is responsible for the tornado."

"Kazuto, we've completed two dungeons back-to-back. The group isn't ready for another one! Besides, your head…"

"I'm fine." He pushed off her to emphasize his point. "If that tornado keeps going, the citizens won't have homes to return to."

Asuna's eyes saddened. "That's true but…"

"Look at this. An ugly fly just waiting to be swatted," a voice mocked from nearby.

Kazuto looked around and saw Sakura with her guild assembled midair, their own wings moving behind them. "What do you want Sakura? We already know about the next dungeon. The ridiculously large tornado was kind of a gimme."

"Oh? It seems you're gotten pretty complacent, like a well trained dog, if you're ready and willing to complete you duty that quickly," she retorted.

"I'm just ready to get this over with so the people of Kanazawa can get back to normal." Kazuto regarded each fighter and doubted he and Asuna could take them all. "So I ask again: what do you want?"

"I want you to suffer!" she screeched. That was the cue for her guild mates to begin the assault. Realizing Asuna would be made a target, Kazuto shoved her behind him and back into the alleyway.

"Kazuto! I can fight!" she protested.

Half glancing behind him, he shouted, "But we can't fight them alone! I'll hold them off! Get the others and come back for me! Stay low before you take to their air or they'll just follow you!"

He took out his swords and blocked the attacks, keeping his back to the alley as much as he could to prevent anyone from following her. "You guys are really starting to annoy me!"

"No amount of pain is enough for what you've done to us!" one of them shouted as he swung his ax.

Kazuto grunted, his equilibrium still off from the fall, as he tried to counter. He didn't want to kill needlessly but unlike the monsters, there were no cor cubes for him to aim for. The only way to neutralize them was either electricity or death. "What are you expecting from all of this!? How will siding with a person like Shinji give you closure?"

Certain that Asuna was far enough away by now, Kazuto performed a quick horizontal square to give him some space before calling out his wings and taking to the air. Sakura was there to meet him and clashed her long spread against his swords. "Once you're out of the picture, the Hand of Destiny will become the shining example of Shinji's technology. Wars will be fought in a way like never before."

"You're going to try and weaponize cor cube technology?" Kazuto balked at the idea. "It's not possible. The projections can't penetrate far enough for long range capabilities."

"Yet." Sakura swung her spear, alternating between her weapon and powerful kicks that she landed against Kazuto a couple of times. "Can you imagine it? Magic realized and executed with the speed of a mere thought?" Snapping her fingers explosions suddenly went off where Kazuto was floating. He dodged a couple but the third blew up in front of him, blasting him out of the sky.

 _They can't seriously mean to…Shinji's nano-technology is amazing but to use it for such an end…how am I supposed to stop something like that?_ Kazuto tried to get up to his feet but the explosion blinded him with debris. "This entire time…was part of this some kind of test trial for Shinji to perfect his technology?"

"Bingo…and you made it all possible."

Sakura's smirk snapped something within Kazuto and he let out a roar before attacking her with both of his blades. _Everything we've been through…everything…Asuna being hurt, Ryoutarou almost dying…it was all just some trial to perfect Shinji's research!?_ The pointlessness of their struggle cut deep into Kazuto and he fought with less than a clear head. His eyes burned and he couldn't see well through the tears. Sakura quickly won the exchange and landed a blow through one of his wings. A hot fiery pain shot through his back at the assault and he spun out of the air and down to the ground.

"Sakura!" Kazuto heard Asuna shout, though he couldn't make her out. He heard several people land around him and he knew his friends had arrived. "We won't let you have your way anymore!"

"Is that so? Let's see who stops who then, shall we!?"

Kazuto rubbed his eyes quickly so he could get to his feet. Though they still watered he was able to make out most of the battlefield. His eight friends had taken the fight to Sakura's forces. Asuna was holding off Sakura as well as a second of her guild mates. Rushing to her aid, Kazuto separated Sakura from Asuna, leaving his wife to battle only a single opponent.

"They're all going to die, you know. I won't let a single one of your friends live," Sakura promised.

Forced to battle on the ground, Kazuto was at a significant disadvantage. Sakura was faster and was able to attack from any direction. _We have to retreat._ If he fell, he knew his friends would be next. "Everyone! Get down!" He threw one of his swords up into the air and at the same moment his comrades all dove out of the sky, his sword exploded with electricity, lancing across the eight members of the Hand of Destiny.

"Kazuto!" Asuna appeared at his side and helped him up. "Let's go." With their enemies immobilized, Kazuto and his friends returned to his home.

"We can't stay here for very long," Andrew said. "That tornado…I don't know how they're doing it but that funnel will destroy the town if we take any longer."

"But as soon as we go out there, won't Sakura and her guild attack us?" Keiko wondered.

Suguha stood up and narrowed her eyes. "I think I might be able to stop it."

"You? How?" Ryoutarou asked.

Asuna snapped her fingers. "Her specialty is wind magic. Maybe she can counter the spinning force of the tornado!"

Suguha hugged herself. "I know it won't be easy. I don't know how to use my powers yet but…I have to try." She looked up and saw her brother staring silently out the window. "Right, big brother?"

Kazuto blinked and turned to face his friends. "Yeah, right. Let's try that."

Kazuto went with Suguha and his friends to the still-swirling tornado. He saw Asuna as well as Keiko attempt to help Suguha cast a spell that would lessen the winds and hopefully end the tornado. He knew he should be paying attention to his sister or even running a parameter to ensure they weren't attacked by those recently released monsters but his mind was distracted.

Shinji had created Guardian Plates, a technology very similar to Kazuto's cor cube. Where Shinji failed to sell his technology, Kazuto can only assume, the cor cube technology was promised to go off without a hitch in Kanazawa. On top of that Shinji was promised the World Seed, or thought he was entitled to it in any case, and Kazuto had received that, too. _Weaponizing my technology…if he succeeds there really won't be any coming back from this._

"Kazuto!" Asuna called out to him.

Coming back to reality, Kazuto watched as his sister controlled forces he didn't fully understand and little by little the tornado slowed down until it dissipated entirely. "She did it…"

"That should buy us some time," Sinon commented.

 _Time to do what? The more we do here the closer Shinji gets to doing something terrible. We can't stop or else Asuna's father dies but if we keep going…_ Kazuto cursed Shinji and cursed the circumstances that led to Kayaba Akihiko's son hating him. _Wait…that's it! Kayaba Akihiko!_

Looking around confirmed another tornado wasn't immediately created so with the current problem solved Kazuto dove back down towards his house, leaving his friends to call out to him from behind. When Kazuto got back home he rushed to his office where Yui was sitting at his computer. "Yui! I need you to search for something for me!"

The little girl blinked, "What is it?"

Getting the information he needed, Kazuto walked down the dark alleys of downtown. Still above him monsters roamed about but they paid him little attention if he stayed out of sight. He wandered until he came to an unmarked door that led to a warehouse. Inside there was little to be found except some stacked wooden boxes, a few tables and chairs…the one person he had come to find.

"Kayaba Akihiko." Kazuto walked forward and regarded the man who now wore a regular shirt and pants, discarding the white lab coat he remembered him wearing years before. "So you were here."

"I am everywhere, Kazuto Kirigaya." The man turned and regarded his successor with a gentle expression.

"I didn't get it at first, why you suddenly appeared in Alfheim Online. It only occurred to me recently." Kazuto had mixed feelings for the specter standing before him now. Nothing could make Kazuto condone what the man before him had done but he couldn't find it in his heart to completely hate him either. "In those last minutes after I killed you in SAO, you somehow uploaded your consciousness onto the net. The world seed that you gave me is merely a duplicate of that cardinal system, isn't it? When I used the world seed to create Journea and then Shinji used my game as a basis for his supposed revenge here, a version of you was created secretly within it."

"That's correct."

"Shinji…is he really your son?"

Kayaba looked up at seemingly nothing and sighed. "It's possible. Rinko and I were together, on and off…of course this version of me wouldn't be aware if it was true or not."

Kazuto clenched a fist. "Why give me the world seed if there was a chance you had a son? Shouldn't it go to him?"

"Why indeed. I suppose…if it was something this world should have you were the only person to decide that. Shinji…I don't know the kind of person he is so who's to say it would have been safe with him?"

"Your loose ends are really starting to be a pain for me," Kazuto growled. Seeing no harm in sharing information, Kazuto told Kayaba about Shinji and the manifestation of Journea within Kanazawa. "This whole thing is just a test and it really pisses me off."

"The Kazuto I know would face any challenge head on, regardless of how difficult it may seem."

"What do you mean 'how difficult it may seem'? Is there something you know that I haven't thought of yet?"

Kayaba lifted his hand and looked intensely at his palm. "This world, Journea, is your creation. You know this game better than anyone. You've just been in it so long you forgot it was a game." He looked intensely at Kazuto. "I created Sword Art Online and calculated everything down to the last specifications. Even then things happened within the system that I couldn't account for: your daughter Yui, Asuna breaking free of my paralysis on Floor 75, and you manifesting a body and keeping hold of your consciousness after your health reached zero and the nerve gear should have killed you. These things all have something in common…but you knew that already. You just needed me to confirm it."

Kazuto closed his eyes and thought about it. _The one thing Kayaba Akihiko didn't anticipate…humankind's strength of will. My game made it so a person's strength of will increased their power past what it should have been. Their max abilities never capped so long as the player kept pushing. It's something my group has the advantage of over Sakura's group._ "I think I get it. Thank you, Kaya…" but when he opened his eyes, the creator was gone.

Several hours later Kazuto returned home, weakened and tired. His training session took longer than he meant to, testing out his new theories, and when he opened the door he expected Asuna throwing herself at him.

He wasn't disappointed.

"Where have you been!? I saw you fly off after we finished off the tornado but I expected you right back! What have you been doing all this time!?" she ranted.

"I'm sorry…Asuna. There was something I had to confirm." He moved past his friends and slowly walked up to his bedroom. "You guys all know this but…we'll be taking on the air temple next. Tomorrow. Let us all prepare as much as we can." When he got to his room Yui met him and waited silently for him to speak first. "I found him. We might have an edge we didn't think about before."

Behind him Asuna came to the doorway and seeing her expression Yui excused herself to leave her parents alone, closing the door behind her.

"I already apologized, Asuna. What more do you want from me?" When he turned with a lazy expression, he was unprepared for her to wrap her arms around him and bury her head into his chest.

"I was so scared…whenever I can't see you I always imagine terrible things happening." She shook with sobs. "Why? Why can't you include me in your thoughts? Am I that much of a burden to you?"

His eyes widened and Kazuto took Asuna by the arms, turned her around, and pinned her down gently against their bed sheets. "You have never been a burden to me, Asuna. Quite the opposite, you are in fact the one who gives me the most strength."

She gasped, "Huh?"

"In Journea, even in Sword Art Online, we're able to exceed our limitations because of our sense of will. When I fight, when I move, everything I do…I do with you in my mind and heart. You enable me to become stronger and faster, becoming the warrior I need to be to fight the battles I must. Without you…I'd be half the man, no less than half the man who have to call your husband. Never think less of yourself."

Asuna's eyes still wept. "You give me strength, too. The thought of losing you…it's just too much."

"You won't lose me and I'm not going to lose you." Kazuto covered her lips with his then and let go of her arms in exchange for lifting her neck to deepen the kiss. "Even if I have to challenge the gods themselves and drag your spirit back to this world, we will never be apart even in death. I will always find you."

With everything going on, Asuna and Kazuto had been unable to share the closest and most intimate of moments between husband and wife yet now with darker times ahead they shared each other in body and soul where they were no longer two but one…

RIKA

Rika found Ryoutarou in the dining room playing solitaire. He had a blank expression on his face. "Hey, how are you doing?" she asked.

"Fine…I guess." He drew three cards, looked at the last one and made a clicking sound with his tongue before putting the cards down on the table. "Should I not be?"

"Well, considering the next five dungeons are pretty high up in the air…" she grinned when Ryoutarou paled.

"I-I'll be fine! It's not like I'll see how high we are once we're inside the dungeon." He allowed her to distract him and looked behind her into the living room. "How's everyone else?"

"As best as they can be." Rika sighed and took a seat at the table. "We've fought air battles before but during that clash with Hand of Destiny, it's obvious these wings have more wind resistance and unless we get better fast we're going to be at a sever disadvantage."

"Kazuto will know what to do."

Rika blinked with surprise. "Huh?"

"Kazuto…he knows us and our abilities almost as well as Asuna does. She knows strategy but Kazuto knows what we can do not only as people and players but…"

"But what we're capable of even when we don't know," Rika finished.

"Yeah…whatever happens he won't let us lose."

SUGUHA

Sinon sat with Suguha and Keiko in the living room, the three girls chatting in quiet giggles.

"It's nice to have another girl with us," Keiko commented.

Sinon nodded. "Being surrounded by so many perverts is troublesome and takes too much energy."

Suguha blushed. "My brother would never try anything! He only has eyes for Asuna…" When she said that her voice quieted out of embarrassment. _I'm happy for him. I am. Maybe now I can move on and find my true love…_

Keiko held onto Pina and snuggled her little head. "Flying in the real world is so much different than flying in ALO…I almost get more of a thrill than I did before!"

Suguha nodded. "The flight engine of ALO is really what captivated me to VRMMORPGs and I think I prefer fairy wings to angel wings because they're lighter, but I agree, soaring over the city earlier gave me a different kind of thrill."

Sinon crossed her arms. "We'll have to wake up bright and early and get in some practice before heading to the air dungeon, whichever one of those floating fortresses it is. We don't want to give the enemy an opportunity to get the jump on us."

"Right," the two girls with her agreed.

To be continued…


	14. Heaven's Gate

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Author's Note: So so sorry for the long delay! I wanted to add some humor but it took me a while to find the right puns and gags for this one. I also added another layer of intrigue to the wait should be worth it to those loyal to this story! Enjoy!

Chapter Fourteen: Heaven's Gate

KAZUTO

Kazuto felt Asuna turn in his embrace and opened his eyes to see her nestling deeper into his chest. _It's strange because even before we were married in SAO Asuna and I were completely comfortable sleeping together. It's hard to imagine back then a moment like this when we are actually married._ Kazuto pulled Asuna closer and smelled the shampoo from her hair. More than anything he wanted to protect their bond. He would fight whoever and whatever he had to in order to keep her by his side like this forever.

 _Six more…six more dungeons and this nightmare is over._ But he stopped that thought. _That's not entirely true. Shinji's just using us and even Sakura to further his own ends. Somehow I have to find a way to stop him._ Blinking he realized the room was bright with sunlight. _Just how late is it?_ He glanced at the clock on his nightstand. _It's that late already!?_

Bashfully Asuna and Kazuto walked down the stairs where already their friends had finished breakfast and were dressed in their armor for the day's dungeon.

An evil look crossed Rika's face, "Took you two long enough to wake up."

Asuna blushed and looked away, "R-Rika, what would you expect? We've been fighting really hard lately!"

Sinon sipped on tea and pretended to look away dispassionately. "Yeah, Rika, it had nothing to do with all that noise we heard last night."

"S-Sinon! We weren't supposed to say anything!" Keiko exclaimed with waving arms.

Andrew tried to hold back his snickers. "It's not Asuna's fault she's so loud."

Kazuto wanted to melt into the floor…

After the teasing stopped the group sat around the living room table. "Have there been any more troubles with tornados?" Kazuto asked.

"We've been doing patrols since early this morning since you two were otherwise…" Ryoutarou winked, "Otherwise occupied."

"But those Angel Mages never appeared to cast more of them so it's been quiet," Suguha crossed her arms. "Aside from that we looked into the five dungeons and from what we can tell from the outside they are wind, fire, ice, light, and dark themed."

Asuna marked the map on the table. "So we're doing wind first. I suppose that makes sense."

Kazuto nodded. "All right. Good work. With wind what status effects can we expect?"

"There were bees before right? Can we expect poison then?" Ryoutarou wondered.

Asuna nodded, "And probably a blow back effect for any critical hits."

Kazuto glared at the map and tried to plan for any contingencies. He had a sinking feeling these next dungeons would be on a totally different level than anything they'd faced before. They were eight strong now and he had to make sure no one got seriously hurt again. _My strength of will…that will be the deciding factor._ "Okay, Asuna and I will suit up and then we'll leave."

Though he said that, getting to the wind dungeon was more difficult than it had been for the individual members of their party to scout earlier. There were parties of monsters gathered in the sky and the first didn't waste any time targeting them.

"Andrew, Ryoutarou on me! Sinon, Suguha, stay in the back! Keiko, Rika, and Asuna you'll switch in with the vanguard!" Kazuto ordered.

"Right!" everyone exclaimed.

The monsters they encountered were a mixture of bees and hawks. The hawks had aerial maneuverability in their favor but only Claw and Bite for attacks. Kazuto saw it as a good opportunity to test out their aerial fighting capability. He dodged to the side and fought his opponent but that the same time he kept an eye on how everyone else was doing. Overall they were handling fighting mid-air pretty well.

The biggest problem was casting magic and using Sinon's long range arrows. It wasn't so much that the girls couldn't aim or anything like that however firing at an angle in the sky without the ground as a reference point was not as accurate. They had to avoid friendly fire at all cost. Should one of them be hit, they would fall out of the sky like a rock.

Andrew and Ryoutarou kept the battles close but when they gained enough space his distance fighters launched their attacks. No one was taking unnecessary risks. _That's good._ Overall he was very proud of them. Their teamwork had come even further than it had been in ALO.

Kazuto slashed down the hawk monster in front of him and looked around. "All right! That's the last of them! Everyone head up to the dungeon!" Kazuto flapped his wings and steered himself towards the large yellow, honeycombed-shaped dungeon above them. There was a large landing pad with an arched, doorless entryway before them and several more on subsequent floors. Stairways connected the other entrances and exits littered the outside of the honeycomb with four additional, smaller yet similar-shaped areas connected with thin enclosed passageways.

"So you think we can just fly up to the other areas?" Ryoutarou asked.

Kazuto knew better but instead he said, "You can always try."

Ryoutarou took to the air but after a few feet he hit a barrier and came falling back down to the ground. "What the heck was that all about!?"

Kazuto failed to withhold his snicker. "Flying to the top would be too easy in the same way flying to the last dungeon would be considered cheating. I figured, at least on the outside of the dungeons, there are anti-flying wards erected to prevent us from skipping to the end."

Ryoutarou glared at him as he got back to his feet. "You could have said something earlier!"

The group walked through the main entrance and entered a large open area with three exits. The walls were covered with large murals depicting a story from ancient times. There was a foreign writing in various places along the mural but it wasn't in a language Kazuto recognized.

"Can anyone read this?"

His friends stepped forward but it was Suguha who answered, "It's called the legend of Heaven's Gate. It refers to a group supposedly appointed by the gods called Heaven's Gate. They were the leading force that guided humanity in the name of the gods." The mural on the wall depicted bright yellows and divine light taking the form of humanoid beings embraced by the clouds. Below them were angelic figures with golden wings.

Asuna regarded the painting critically. "I would think they were more beautiful if I didn't already see them creating tornadoes in an attempt to destroy the city below."

Walking to the right showed the mural taking on darker shades with blues and blacks closing in around the golden winged angels. The black clouds shot lightning over mortals as they fled across the bones of their brethren.

"Heaven's Gate became self absorbed by their power and were eventually excommunicated from heaven for abusing that power and using it against the humans they were charged to protect," Suguha finished reading.

Andrew regarded the picture while holding his chin thoughtfully. "So we're up against a group that was kicked out by the gods. This seems kind of elaborate for just a single dungeon."

"I agree," Kazuto nodded. "Chances are this is a group we're going to be up against and ultimately defeat during these next five dungeons."

Rika looked around with uncertainty. "Do we split up then?"

"Hang on, there's more." Keiko pointed to the mural not painted but carved into the center passage door.

Suguha came over and looked at the engraving in the center. Paraphrasing she said, "Four enchanted crystals housing unimaginable wind power are housed here by Heaven's Gate. I'm guessing that's what enabled them to summon a tornado. They're protected by guardians and need to be collected in order to complete the dungeon."

"So we need them to defeat the boss?" Sinon wondered.

Asuna shook her head. "Defeating the boss and completing the dungeon are two different things. We may fight the boss and have a final door to open or the crystals may be the key to defeating the boss by lowering its defenses or something."

"Whatever the case all we can do is keep our eye out for them as we go through the dungeon." Kazuto looked between the two other archways besides the entrance and did the separation in his head. "Andrew, Ryoutarou, Keiko, and Suguha can take one path. The rest of us will take the other. Chances are they eventually exit to those honeycombed buildings we saw and inside we'll find the crystals."

Asuna regarded the door carefully. "We may need a key or something for this door too because I don't see any indents for the crystals."

"In any case, let's split up and see what we can find." Kazuto took his group and went right while the other group went left.

ANDREW

Andrew's group walked through large cavernous tunnels and though they waited for monsters to show up none did. Ryoutarou walked up to his side and looked around nervously. "There's nothing more suspicious that complete silence."

"I agree but we shouldn't let our guard down…" Just as Andrew said that he heard a clicking noise in the floor and panels in the side walls opened.

"Look out!" Ryoutarou instantly pulled Andrew back as something passed in front of him. The back of his hand was sliced and he hissed in pain, bringing his hand into his chest quickly.

"What was that!?" Keiko exclaimed. "It moved so fast I couldn't see it!"

Another click was heard and Suguha immediately shoved Keiko down to the ground, shielding her body with her own. "It's wind! Wind blades are being fired from slits hidden in the wall!"

Ryoutarou's eyes went wide. "Wind blades sharp enough to cut skin!?"

Kazuto's group took similar cover as wind blades came at them not only from the walls but from the front as well.

"How are we supposed to get passed all of these!?" Rika whined from her position on the floor.

KAZUTO

Asuna winced and tried to look up past the chaos. "There's a lever at the end of this hallway!"

Kazuto tried getting to his feet but as soon as he did a blade of wind flew past him, cutting the side of his neck.

"Kazuto, don't be stupid!" Asuna yanked him back down and in her rush to save him she pulled him down into her chest, tightly enclosing his head with the softest part of her. Kazuto waved his hands uselessly trying to get free while his face turned bright red.

"Asuna, this isn't the time for that! I expected better from you!" Sinon growled and strung her bow, aiming down the hall from the position on her back. Enchanting the bow with wind of her own, it spun and flew true, knocking the lever up. The wind blades ceased eventually the way became clear.

Asuna released Kazuto and sat up, dusting herself off. When she looked around for Kazuto she found him catching his breath, leaning heavily against the wall. "Kazuto? Are you all right?"

"I thought I was going to die…" he panted shakily.

Rika laughed at his lack of poise. "Kazuto probably thought that blow to his neck cut off his head and he was in the afterlife surrounded by Asuna's boobies for all eternity."

Asuna blushed madly, "R-R-R-Rika! Stop talking nonsense!"

Sinon looked at Kazuto who still had noodles for legs. "Still I think it'll be awhile before he recovers."

ANDREW

"Pina!" Keiko exclaimed. Her little dragon responded to her call and shot off her shoulder while the group rushed to take cover. Pina flew and depressed the button, saving the group from their predicament.

Everyone got to their feet and carefully continued down the path. They exited the building and walked up stairs along the side, leading to one of the exterior buildings. Ryoutarou swallowed hard and hugged the wall as much as he could along the staircase.

Suguha looked at him strangely. "Still afraid of heights?"

"I'm not afraid of anything!" Ryoutarou exclaimed, running with his eyes closed across the stairs that led to the smaller honeycomb. As soon as he disappeared, his scream rang through the air.

"Ryoutarou!" Andrew shouted, running after his friend.

KAZUTO

Kazuto's group entered the smaller room and looked around expecting a fight. It had been unnerving that the first floor was practically bare of enemies. However, they had quickly learned no monsters didn't equate to no danger. Asuna had mended the cut in his neck easily enough but the memory was still there.

There was the crystal sitting on a pillowed pedestal, glowing with a feint light. It was just the size to sit in the palm of one's hand. _It's too easy._

"What do we do?" Asuna wondered aloud.

"The simplest solution would be to pick it up," Kazuto replied, walking up to it. He waited to make sure his group was ready before reaching forward and grabbing the crystal. Of course as soon as he did that tiny laughter broke out all around them. He left the crystal where it lay and spun around to face his enemy.

It appeared in the form of a miniscule, fairy-winged pixie. She appeared before Kazuto mere inches from his face. She wore a frilly dress that sparkled and held a tiny wand in her hand no bigger than a toothpick.

"You're cute!" the squeaky voice giggled. "I bet you'll make a lovely corpse!"

"Let's at least draw it out for a bit before we kill them," a second tiny voice said. This one appeared male though the clothes he wore were no less bright and sparkling.

More pixies came out of hidden niches and holes, quickly outnumbering the group five to one. Rika hefted her mace and grinned evilly. "These are the guardians?"

But Asuna and Kazuto paled. "Don't underestimate them, Rika," Asuna warned. "Maybe one or two wouldn't be too much trouble but pixies in of themselves are known to cause great mischief."

 _I can see why Heaven's Gate would employ pixies to guard their treasures…they love shiny things above all else and they have no moral reservations._

"Oo, look at this one's glare! So scary! Just like a wolf!" The pixie tapped her wand on Kazuto's head and right afterwards tapped again behind him.

Asuna immediately broke out in giggles, pointing at Kazuto while wiping the tears from her eyes. "T-They gave you wolf ears and a tail!"

Kazuto reached up and sure enough he felt animal ears sticking out above his head and reaching behind him he felt a fluffy tail. "W-what!?"

A male pixie circled Rika and crossed his arms. "This one looks like a giant flower, doesn't she?" He tapped his wand against Rika and when she exclaimed her voice came out deep, resembling Andrew's voice rather than her own.

"Y-You've got to be kidding me!"

ANDREW

Andrew, Keiko, and Suguha stood looking at Ryoutarou with open mouths and open eyes. The samurai himself blushed tomato red and raised his arms in a weak attempt to cover his form. "Don't look at me!" But it was too late. The pixie who had ambushed him placed the girl-chaser in a frilly pink leotard and tutu, completing the outfit with ballet slippers. His long hair was pulled up into a short ponytail. "This is embarrassing!"

While his friends tried to catch their breath because they were laughing so hard, more pixies came out and surrounded them. "Well, Andrew? What do we do now?" Suguha wondered.

Andrew, still wearing a smile, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. "I suppose we have to fix this and make it right."

"That's right!" Keiko agreed. "We have to save poor Ryoutarou's dignity, but first…" She took out her phone and snapped a photo of the newest prima dona. "There. I didn't think Asuna would believe us if we didn't bring proof."

Suguha grinned and summoned wind around them, tossing the pixies into disarray. "Let's make this quick before anything happens to us!"

"Right!" Everyone agreed and started the battle.

KAZUTO

When the two groups met back up at the main door leading to the second story and by pressing the switches under the pedestals after retrieving the first two crystals, the doors now lay open before them.

Kazuto, his alterations now gone, came up to Andrew. "Any trouble?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle." Off to the side Asuna and Keiko giggled loudly as they exchanged pictures on their phones, leaving Kazuto and Ryoutarou to turn away in embarrassment.

"L-let's just keep going! I'm sure a mini-boss is up ahead." Kazuto cleared his throat and walked through the doorway. The door exited back outside to a staircase that went up higher before it looped back around and inside. Ahead of them lay a large, high vaulted ceiling with a shiny mirror-like tile floor. The edges of the room had large ferns that stretch high above them along with several trees. The trees had branches that stretched from side to side along with swooping vines.

"What do you suppose we have to fight here?" Suguha wondered.

Next to her, Sinon knocked an arrow and pointed it towards a large shadow that emerged from the jungle. "I think we're about to find out."

A deep growling greeted them first along with big white wings. The boss' body resembled a lion while its head was that of an eagle's. It's front legs belonged to that of the eagle as well with thick black and sharp looking talons.

"A griffon!" Asuna exclaimed.

"Seems fitting, considering this is the wind dungeon," Andrew surmised.

"Okay everyone, let's see what he's got!" Kazuto pulled out his swords and the group began diving in and out, testing the boss' abilities. The griffon blocked many of their attacks with its front claws and counterattacked the same way. After a few exchanges the griffon flapped its wings and took to their air.

"Let's follow him but be aware of your surroundings! Don't run into any of the trees or vines!" Kazuto ordered, taking to their air first. The surge of feeling he felt in the pit of his stomach from being airborne pushed his thrill of the battle into overdrive. He kept watch of his party, seeing if anyone was casting magic and when they did he dodged to the side to allow them to attack.

He heard Keiko exclaim, "Pina! Ice Breath!" and flapped his wings to the left, pushing to towards the right. He appeared at Asuna's side and watched the ice freeze one of the monster's wings, making him tumble out of the sky.

When Kazuto glanced at Asuna, he noticed she looked worried. "What's wrong?"

Asuna narrowed her eyes. "I remember reading about griffons a long time ago in school. They were used by the Catholic Church to represent their opposition to the idea of remarriage. Griffons mate for life. So, what I'm wondering is, why are we only fighting one?"

To answer her question, Kazuto heard a sound come from behind them and at the last moment he grabbed Asuna and dove to the side. The griffon's talons tore open his shoulder and he tumbled with his wife into a nearby tree. In his erratic fall he pushed her onto one of the branches while he fell down and became entangled in some of the vines. His wing got trapped and it aggravated his new wound. He cried out in pain but had no strength to free himself.

"Kazuto!" Asuna exclaimed.

Gritting his teeth he replied, "D-Don't worry about me! Defeat the boss!"

Ryoutarou flew down and deftly cut the vines trapping Kazuto and caught his friend as he fell. "We will, once we get you to safety." Ryoutarou lowered Kazuto to the ground and gave him a confident smirk. "Now let us show you how far we've come, Fearless Leader!"

Ryoutarou took off back up into the sky, leaving Kazuto to watch on from the ground. Half his friends targeted the second griffon while the others finished off the one with the frozen wing. It was unable to fight as well and was easily outmatched. When it seemed obvious that they would win, the second griffon glowed a brilliant yellow and the first griffon was restored, his wounds healed and its wing no longer frozen. "You gotta be kidding me!" Ryoutarou exclaimed.

"They have to be defeated at the same time!" Kazuto shouted up towards them. "The griffon has the skill auto-regen when their partner is critically wounded! You won't be able to defeat one without the other!"

"So we're going to need a good AOE!" Asuna exclaimed. "Suguha, Keiko, prepare to combine your attacks! The rest of us will lure the monsters into the center of the room!" Asuna took command in Kazuto's place and like magic everyone worked flawlessly, individual gears given greater purpose by working together. When the two griffons were back to back, Asuna shouted, "Now!"

"Pina! Fire Breath!"

"Come to me, God of Wind!"

Suguha's wind powered Keiko's flame and the two griffons were unable to defend against such a mighty attack. Their cor cubes melted and they vanished from sight.

 _Well done, everyone._ Kazuto thought. Asuna came down and immediately got to work healing Kazuto's shoulder. When everyone was ready they took the stairs that appeared at the opposite end of the room and walked up to the next floor.

"Do we really have to do this again?" Ryoutarou whined when he saw what lay before them.

"The design is the same," Sinon commented. "I think it's safe to assume the goal is the same. Two tunnels, two separate rooms holding crystals. We get the crystals and the boss room will open."

"That's easy for you to say! You didn't end up in a dress!" the samurai's eyes watered. "I'll never be seen as manly again!"

Rika laughed and patted him on the back. "If it makes you feel better when you come back I'll let you know what happened to me before, okay?"

He sniffed. "Pwamise?"

And thus the group lifted their chins, squared their shoulders, and tackled the third and fourth chambers to retrieve the last of the crystals. When they rendezvoused back in the third floor main chamber Kazuto held all four crystals in his hands and thought about the legend of Heaven's Gate.

 _They brought the fight to us. It's not like we started it. So then why do I feel so apprehensive?_

"Kazuto?" Asuna came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Everything okay?"

"Something about this feels off. It's partially because it was too easy and partially because this feels a lot like…" his eyes went wide. "Like SAO."

"Like SAO?" Rika questioned. "How so?"

Kazuto glared at the crystals as he thought back. "Back then, before I crossed swords with Heathcliff, I always wondered if Kayaba was watching us and when I thought about that it felt like we were just playing a part."

Sinon crossed her arms. "And you feel like that now?"

Kazuto nodded, "Those guys with the golden wings…they were Heaven's Gate, I'm almost sure of it. So then why was it so easy to get these crystals? If they were really in the Heaven's Gate's possession then why did the tornados stop? The crystals embody wind magic right? So they should have kept the twisters coming."

"Now that you mention it," Andrew rubbed his chin in thought. "Something doesn't add up."

"So what do we do?" Keiko hugged Pina.

"All we can do is move forward," Asuna told everyone. "We'll figure it out along the way."

Kazuto looked at his wife and felt his resolve solidify. _That's right. It's not just me. We're all in this together. If I don't see something, Asuna will… if something targets her, I'll always be there to save her. We can overcome anything._ He put the crystals in his pocket for safe keeping before he said, "Okay, let's go."

The door before them had four openings for the crystals and when he got close enough the magic in the crystals activated and they floated up into the niches. The lock clicked and the crystals came back to Kazuto as the doors opened. Inside the layout looked like a throne room and sitting on the throne at the end of the red carpet was a tall, beautiful woman with long blond hair and transparent golden fairy wings.

Upon their approach the woman opened her eyes and smirked thinly. She flipped a portion of her hair over her shoulder and stood up before them. She wore a tight midnight blue dress that sparkled like the night sky and had high slits up the outside of her thighs. Kazuto's face flushed and he immediately avoided Asuna's jealous glare.

"Visitors? So you're the ones my subjects spoke about."

"Your subjects?" Suguha raised an eyebrow.

"I am Kaulina, Queen of the pixies, and you are trespassing. Return the crystals you stole and I'll make your deaths painless."

Kazuto narrowed his eyes. "Do you work for Heaven's Gate?"

"Those old fools? I might grant them an audience from time to time," the queen replied. "It seems you aren't liked very much by them."

"What did we ever do to them?" Rika demanded.

"You are outsiders yet move to save those around you with wings stolen from heaven. It's an honor that wasn't granted to you but to the members of Heaven's Gate." Queen Kaulina snapped her fingers and four adds popped up in the form of golden winged knights. "It seems they're a little touchy about that."

Asuna growled and poised for battle with her rapier. "We didn't steal anything and Heaven's Gate was banished from heaven! They shouldn't care what we do!"

The queen shrugged. "It's not like I care. You stole from me and none of you are getting out of here alive. Get them!"

Kazuto called out his wings. "Andrew, Rika, and Routarou you take the adds! The rest of us will attack the queen!" The leader launched himself into battle against the fairy queen and her weapon of choice was a staff that had a yellow orb at one end. Of course on top of being skilled with her weapon she also mixed up her battle strategy with wing magic. Kazuto hadn't forgotten about the four crystals or the mural Suguha had read to them on the first floor.

 _It's possible the crystals are the key to defeating the queen_ … Kazuto thought. _But how…?_ Queen Kaulina landed a blow to the side of his head and he fell from the sky, landing on his back. His head cracked against the floor and he remained there dazed. He heard people call out to him but as he forced his double vision to correct itself, he noticed another mural at the top of the throne room. _It's like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel_ _in Italy._

"Suguha!" He called for his sister and she immediately came to him. Thinking he wanted her to heal him she began to tend to his head but he waved her away. "Look up there."

She did and her eyes went wide. "Another mural?"

"Can you get up there and figure out if it has any clues to defeat the queen?"

She nodded. "Leave it to me."

Suguha took off and once three of the adds were finished off Kazuto attacked the back of the fourth because the opportunity presented itself. That one shattered and the group converged on the queen.

"Well you're entertaining, I'll give you that." She crossed her arms and a multitude of holes in the walls of the room opened up, releasing arrows that flew back and forth, dozens at a time. Keiko, Rika, and Andrew were struck first, falling out of the air and back to the floor. Asuna, Sinon, and Ryoutarou sought shelter in the far corners which seemed to be the only place arrows didn't strike.

Kazuto used his vision in combination with his hearing to avoid the arrows, trying to buy Suguha time to decipher the mural. So far the queen hadn't paid her any mind and his sister was high enough that she was out of range of the arrows. _Time to put that training I did to some use!_ He focused within him and thought back to when he'd first used Starburst Stream. _Faster! I gotta move faster!_ Kazuto moved back and forth, up and down, faster than the eye could see. At times he practically teleported to avoid getting hit. One moment he was on the left side of the room, the next instant he was suddenly directly in front of the queen. He sliced with his swords down at the same time and cut off her wings, kicking her out of the sky and back down into her precious throne.

Queen Kaulina screamed and bounced when she hit the floor, her control over the arrows disappeared and the room fell quiet. "How dare you!" she shrieked.

"Brother, I got it!" Suguha flew down and the group huddled around her. "The mural says we can cast a spell with the four crystals if we position them in four corners around the queen. It will be enough to defeat her!"

"For spellcasters I guess that's Keiko, Asuna, Suguha, and Sinon," Kazuto assigned, passing out the crystals from his pocket.

Ryoutarou grinned. "You four ladies spread out. The rest of us will lure the queen into the center of the room."

Kazuto turned and smirked at the queen. "So the Heaven's Gate took advantage of you and you're okay with that? Not very royal of you, is it?"

"What would you know!?" Kaulina spun her staff and slammed the base down against the floor, cracking it. "Heaven's Gate may have been kicked out of heaven but they are still a force to be reckoned with. If you've gotten on their bas side then you'll have more to worry about than me."

"We'll see about that." Kazuto and his party members went after the queen while their four spellcasters crept along the outside of the battle. When they were in position, Asuna whistled and Kazuto nodded. "Now!" He leapt back out and allowed the girls to move in. They chanted in a foreign tongue, floating the crystal between their hands. At the peak of the spell, four blade of wind flew in towards the queen, penetrating her defenses and shattering her cor cube.

With the danger out of the way, Kazuto group rushed towards him. "What was that move earlier!?" Ryoutarou demanded first.

"You were so fast I couldn't even keep track of you!" Rika exclaimed.

"It's kind of a lot to explain but the short version is Agility had always been my highest stat, aside from Strength. In Journea, each player is only held back by their amount of will. Thus with the right fine tuning, I can move faster than humanly possibly. I can move at the speed of thought." Kazuto grinned. "It's the one flaw Shinji didn't think of when he used my game as a base. I wouldn't have thought of it if Kayaba…"

"Kayaba!?" Andrew shouted.

Kazuto sighed heavily. "Can we just destroy the force field projection and get back home? I can explain more there." The four crystals, with the queen defeated, combined and became a single key which opened the final door to the highest room of the dungeon. Though they had won, Kazuto could still feel eyes upon them. Heaven's Gate wasn't yet defeated. The game wasn't over…

SAKURA

Sakura watched Kazuto's group leave the wind dungeon and return back to the city below. "Are you sure it's wise to let them leave, High Angel? They will continue to sin against the gods…and now you've lost your power over wind."

The four golden-winged figure watched his prey descend from the skies. "I used the crystals to lure them to the queen. It's unfortunate she wasn't enough to finish them but it matters little. The other trials will not be so easily defeated."

To be continued…


	15. The Fire of Passion Takes Many Forms

Kanazawa Chronicles

By Alexia Lunaria

Author's Note: Thank you all who stuck with this story through its hiatus. I have finally found a slope in my freelance writing and with the release of SAO: Hollow Actualization and SAO: Ordinal Scale (Which I got to see in theatres and it's amazing!) my fire for my SAO fanfic has returned. Here is the next chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter Fifteen: The Fire of Passion Takes Many Forms

KAZUTO

"It's hard to believe he's really here," Andrew said once Kazuto had explained everything.

"But it's not him, right?" Rika clarified. "It's only a shadow form of him…"

Keiko shivered and held Pina closer to her chest. "Just saying it like that gives me the creeps."

"So to refocus on what you were saying, something about humans interacting with virtual reality will always be incalculable and that x-factor is something you programmed in Journea?" Asuna looked at her husband.

"Sort of…" Kazuto laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "What I programmed was for things like heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure to be considered when determining stats."

"It's brilliant!" Ryoutarou admired. "I'm sure to be super strong now!"

"It's not something you can easily access, however," Kazuto cautioned. "I only did it after hours of practice. You have to be extremely focused and the Will Power Reaction, as I've recently named it, depends on the player."

"Now that we've covered Kazuto's little disappearing act how about we refocus on the next dungeon?" Sinon leaned back on the sofa and crossed her arms. "Which one should we do?"

"Well our order has always been determined for us, hasn't it?" Asuna mentioned. "It'll depend on if a quest giver is there or not."

"Or if a section of the city magically catches fire," Rika spouted dryly.

"Don't say that, Rika!" Keiko admonished. "It might actually happen!"

"We'll check out fire and lightning first." Kazuto stared at the map before him. "I'm guessing like most RPG games, light and darkness are going to be the most difficult."

"So if it's fire we can assume Burn is one of the status affects we'll need to worry about." Suguha held up a finger. "If that's the case then the local vendor should have gel or something to treat it, right?"

Yui, sitting next to her mother, shook her head. "So far there have been no items in this game. Healing spells are the only cure for Burn, however the chance of the vendors having an anti-burn talisman or accessory may be a possibility."

"Yui, you've been pretty quiet lately," Ryoutarou looked at the little girl. "Any particular reason?"

Yui shook her head and touched Asuna's tummy. "I'm simply waiting patiently for my baby brother or sister to come now that mommy and daddy are married. I thought all that noise the other night that I stayed with Auntie Suguha was the baby being born but so far nothing!"

Asuna blushed madly and jumped to her feet. "I'm going to check that vendor out and see about anti-burn talismans!"

Everyone giggled as she bolted for the door. Kazuto stood up and casually followed after her, ignoring the snickers of his friends. "I'll go with you."

Once outside Asuna and Kazuto walked alone down empty streets for the first time in a long while. Kazuto held Asuna's hand and though she liked it, something about her husband's mood caught her attention.

"Kazuto?"

"Hmm?" he replied without looking.

"Why did you come?"

He looked at her now and raised an eyebrow. "Should I not have?"

"It's not that. I'm glad you came but…something's been on your mind, hasn't it?"

Expecting him to try and deny it she was surprised when he nodded and returned his gaze to the path ahead. "Something about those Heaven's Gate guys rubs me the wrong way but I don't know what it is yet."

Asuna nodded in understanding. "Just knowing there's another group besides Hand of Destiny that we have to worry about is troublesome enough."

"We foiled their plan with the wind crystals and yet we've seen nothing of them since yesterday."

"Even in ALO we dealt with multiple NPC groups."

"Which would make one think that Heaven's Gate is predictable. That kind of thinking is likely to get us killed. Besides that Hand of Destiny are certainly _not_ NPCs so they're even less predictable."

Asuna gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out. They won't catch us off guard."

Surprisingly the vendor did have anti-burn talismans so they bought eight of them and headed back to the house.

"Everyone ready to go?" Kazuto asked once everyone put on the new necklaces.

"Let's do it!" Ryoutarou exclaimed.

The flight up to the fire dungeon was not as straining as before and Kazuto had hopes that meant they were getting to be stronger flyers. Upon landing on the floating mountain, he saw that it looked like a giant mountain formed out of pumice, or volcanic rock. Plumes of smoke escape from vents and holes located in various places suggesting something was on fire inside. Just standing by the entrance, Kazuto felt his skin dot with sweat.

"Will these amulets be enough to protect us from the heat?" Suguha wondered aloud.

"It's not feeling like they will," Andrew replied. "If they did we wouldn't already be drenched like this."

"Everyone stay here," Kazuto commanded. "I'll just take a peak inside." Not wanting anyone else hurt if things did get too hot, he approached with caution and stayed within eyesight of the group. The dungeon inside reminded him of lava caves, formed out of the pumice rock itself, and filled with jagged stalactites and stalagmites. He noticed pockets of lava that bubbled, creating those plumes of smoke he saw, as well as various caverns that didn't seem to have any set pattern to them.

"You! You have to help me!" A person poked their head out from behind a rock pillar and came running at him. Kazuto went on alert until he noticed it was a man then he forced himself to remove his hands from the hilt of his sword. The man ran up and instantly grabbed hold of Kazuto's front clothes, gripping them with fervor. "The monster took her!"

"O-Okay, slow down. Let's head back outside and get away from this heat." Looking at the man up close, Kazuto could see his body was burned red and was beginning to blister. _Just how long has this man been here like this?_

"Kazuto?" Asuna questioned when he emerged from the dungeon.

He shook his head. "It's too hot without some kind of heat-resistance spell."

"That's what they said you would need! I know where it is!" the man exclaimed, getting everyone's attention.

"Who is this?" Rika asked.

Kazuto shrugged, "The quest giver, I'm assuming. It seems someone was taken inside."

Suguha's eyes went wide. "He's badly burned! We need to get him to the hospital!"

"No! You have to save Noriko! She's my sister!" the man pleaded. "I was told the dragon that resides here took her for its master!"

Sinon frowned with narrowed eyes, "Told? By who?"

"Some group with wings just like yours."

"Were they golden in color?" Kazuto asked the man.

"No, but they said you would come. They said you wouldn't be able to enter the dungeon and to wait for you just inside. They said to tell you that fire-resistance spell or whatever is granted to the person who finds the ice lily hidden in the ice dungeon."

"Hand of Destiny then." Kazuto withheld a growl. _I hate it when I'm right. If it's not one headache, it's the other._

The flight down to the ice dungeon was quicker than Kazuto would have liked. After making a quick stop at the temporary police station by the hospital, where they dropped off the man to be treated for second and third degree burns, they left for the frozen shrine grounds. Kazuto needed time to center his thoughts yet before he knew it they stood at the entrance to the ice dungeon. _Just how many times are they going to make me come here?_ Kazuto could guess Sakura's goal: to torment Kazuto and keep him distracted. Distracted players got killed.

In Kazuto's mind, he was back in that canyon… paralyzed and almost dead with Kuradeel's form looming over him. Asuna arrived and saved him when he was certain he would shatter and his mind in the real world electrocuted. Asuna, his angel, then turned the wrath of heaven itself on the one who would do him harm.

She was naïve, though, and took his cries of mercy for their face value. In the next instance, Kazuto watched as she was disarmed and about to die in one move at the hands of that venomous snake. Kazuto sacrificed his hand that day but he would have sacrificed his life if it meant she could live. Then it was not the wrath of heaven but the fires of hell that Kazuto summoned to end Kuradeel before he could target them again.

When it was over, Asuna cried feeling it was all her fault. Meanwhile, in that moment, Kazuto ceased being Kazuto: the individual. He was no longer a solo player who could turn a blind eye to his angel of salvation. His life belonged to her and he would spend the rest of his days overseeing her safety.

And in that clear, dangerous water below Asuna had almost been lost to him. Closer to death than she had ever been. He was so close, the spear almost striking him, and yet it was her who was plunged into the darkness, her tears and pain of separation from her knight as frozen as the ice around her. The same fear then gripped at Kazuto's heart now and he felt it as a physical ache within him.

Asuna came up and put her hand on Kazuto's shoulder, snapping him out of his mental spiral. He looked up at shock in her, not realizing she was by his side, alive and unscathed. "I'm fine and I'm right here. They won't get the jump on us again."

He nodded and squared his shoulders, signaling Ryoutarou to perform his fire spell to give them an opening through the ice-shard firing trees. "Okay, let's go!" Passed the trees, the courtyard was quiet and no monsters tried to attack them aside from a few annoying ice bats and snakes. He kept alert with narrowed eyes as they entered the frozen lake that he knew held the ice lily they needed. He walked across the first couple of wooden planks and immediately felt movement beneath the ice.

"Down below! There's something down there!" He didn't waste any time igniting his sword with Fire of Hades. "Asuna, Andrew, and Keiko you go to the opposite side where we fought the boss. Around there should be where the flower is. Sinon, you go with them and bring up the rear! Rest of you with me!" He leapt high into the air just as a huge shark broke through the ice shelf and tried to swallow him whole.

Kazuto performed Horizontal Square and watched as the fire engulfed the monster, forcing it back down into its freezing depths. Rika and Ryoutarou separated to surround the battleground while Suguha kept back near her brother. She would be their main healer if anything were to go wrong.

The next time the monster emerged, Ryoutarou and Rika flew up together, crossing with their attacks from both sides. Flames erupted and this time the shark let out a roar of pain before it ducked down again.

"How are we supposed to find its cor cube if it keeps diving down!?" Rika asked.

"We don't!" Kazuto, his energy replenished from using the Fire of Hades, attacked the next time the monster came up. His form disappeared and he struck sixteen times from eight different angles. When he landed back on his wooden plank he tightened his grip on his sword. "We're just keeping it busy until the girls get back with the flower!"

"We got it!" Asuna came running through, behind her Sinon leapt up into the air and released three fire arrows that attacked the monster even as he swam beneath the ice.

"Alright! Let's go!" Kazuto landed and allowed Asuna to lead the retreat while he brought up the rear. He wanted to make extra sure no one was hit from behind again. _You're not winning this war, Sakura, no matter how dirty you plan to play._

When they exited the ice dungeon once more, Asuna stopped running and turned to face their group. "As I understand it, this special item only grants the ability to cast the spell Heat Resistance to one player."

"Then you use it," Kazuto stated. "You already have Cold Resistance."

"He's right," Keiko agreed. "It should be you."

Asuna nodded and closed her eyes. The lily in her hands was clear and looked like it was made of glass. It began to glow before it disappeared. "Got it." She raised a hand and a blue hue surrounded each player as she cast the spell for the first time.

"Okay, let's head back to the fire dungeon," Kazuto called out his wings again and took to the air. He wanted to enjoy his time in the air but his thoughts were consumed with Sakura's plan. There was a bigger picture that he was missing here. They reached the entrance and entered without preamble. Everyone knew what to expect.

The heat was noticeable but the resistance spell prevented any physical harm. There were a great number of caverns and tunnels, all meant to confuse and get the group lost.

"This is going to take forever," Ryoutaruo whined. "Why don't we split up and search the caverns for the sub boss?"

Andrew nodded. "I agree."

"No." Kazuto shook his head. "We don't split up. Something doesn't feel right."

Asuna didn't question her husband, instead she looked around. "How about we use Pina?"

Keiko tilted her head. "To do what?"

"Bats use sound to avoid running into walls in pitch black conditions, right? Maybe Pina has a similar skill," the scholar replied.

Keiko nodded to her pet and Pina squawked an affirmative. Pina flew to one of the caves that had three tunnels to choose from. She opened her mouth and made a loud chirp at the entrance of each one. After a moment she flew to the far left one and turned towards her master.

"Pina says that one leads to a huge cave that should house the sub boss."

Suguha's eyebrows rose. "Pina said all that?"

Keiko blushed, "Well no, not exactly, she said there's a huge cave...I'm the one who thought the sub boss will be there."

Ryoutarou patted her on the head. "Good work you two." Keiko giggled and the group went down the first tunnel.

They walked through to the large cave and everyone stood in awe. The cave was huge and the very center had a square bubbling lava pit.

Andrew whistled, "Pina wasn't kidding."

Asuna narrowed her eyes and looked around. "But where's the…" she gasped and grabbed Keiko's hand to start running down the path to the left. "Sub boss! RUN!"

Sure enough a huge fire lizard roared and opened its mouth, fire erupting in a steady stream as if from a flame thrower. Everyone ran but Sinon pulled back an arrow and shot behind her, firing an ice arrow into the roof of the monster's mouth.

"Wait, we can fly!" Ryoutarou took to the air, quickly followed behind by Suguha and Rika.

"No wait!" Kazuto exclaimed, but his warning came too late. The monster repeated its attack and fired into the air. This time instead of a steady stream, two fireballs ten feet wide flew at the trio. Ryoutarou dove to the side, ramming into Rika to take with him. Suguha tried to dodge but her angel wings were much larger than her fairy wings had been and the fireball grazed one, sending her into a spiral towards the lava pit. "Suguha!"

Kazuto called out his wings and flapped once, creating a massive amount of updraft due to the hot air of the room. He flew up and caught her before she could come to further harm. Asuna was by their side tending to his sister the instant he landed while he turned to face the majority of their group. "Do not fly. If we fall, even from a low height, chances are you're going to be stuck over lava. Use your wings to avoid ground attacks but remain over the ground path."

Rika started the counterattack and came in hot as Keiko had Pina use a wind breath attack to boost Rika's speed. Rika lifted her hammer and came down hard on the fire lizard's head, sufficiently slamming its mouth closed.

"I thought the guy said it was a dragon?" Andrew swung his ax low, attacking the lizard's legs, sufficiently immobilizing it.

"If you were a normal person and you saw this, wouldn't you think it was a dragon!?" Sinon used her wings to fly straight up into the air where she fired an ice arrow. The arrow struck true and the fire lizard roared with anger. "Well we can assume ice is extremely effective!" The lizard flung his tail around and knocked Sinon right out of the air. She went flying sideways and slammed into the cavern wall.

"Sinon!" Suguhu growled and performed a spell that superheated the air in front of her and blasted it at her target. The fire lizard was blasted backwards and landed on its back. Asuna and Kazuto took that opportunity to come in and strike a critical blow to the core cube when it exposed itself in the form of a tattoo on the lizard's belly. The monster shattered and a new opening revealed itself on the opposite side of the lava pit.

"Let's go." Kazuto led the way out of the cavern and back in through the maze. The dungeon was very linear after that. Skirmishes with minor monsters proved more of an annoyance than an actual challenge. There was some loot to be had, including high quality bracers that Kazuto thought about keeping for himself but Asuna snatched them up first, knowingly binding them upon pick up to her.

"What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine." She winked at him and giggled, looking at her new equipment with pride.

Kazuto looked at Andrew with a suffering expression. "Is that how marriage works?"

The older male just lifted his hands and shook his head. "Pretty much.

As they continued, what unnerved Kazuto the most was how normal everything seemed. It was like they were simply going through any other dungeon. _There has to be a catch. There's always a catch!_ Yet as they approached the huge double doors leading to the boss room at the top level of the dungeon, Kazuto was disappointed and his feelings of suspicion had grown exponentially.

"Kazuto?" Asuna questioned.

"I hate to sound like a broken record but…it's too easy. Something's wrong." He growled. "I still get the feeling I'm missing something."

Asuna, not one to disregard her husband's intuition lightly, kept up alert while Andrew and Ryoutarou opened the door to the boss room. "Sinon, you, Suguha, and I will remain in the back, along with Keiko. The rest will take the forward. We'll take it slow until we figure out the attack pattern."

"Right." Everyone agreed and entered what turned out to look like a red and gold themed palace room. Marble floors, round pillars that reached all the way up to the ceiling. Huge altars burned with fire two feet wide. The lone occupant of the room stood in front of a cage covered with a cloth, same as what Keiko had been hidden behind.

Realizing where his goal was, Kazuto turned his attention to the one in front of the cage. The one who stood in his way. "Who are you?"

"I am Chandra, the Demi-God of Fire." The woman looked young but she was dressed in strong looking armor and wielded a spear with a cutesy red feather ornament dangling from it. "And you are all trespassers."

"Demi-god?" Keiko echoed.

"Makes sense, I suppose," Rika observed evenly. "We took on a queen last dungeon, right? So a demi-god is still up the chain."

"So we're going to end up having to beat a god to get out of this mess!?" Ryoutarou whined.

"Shinji is pretty much a god, so yeah I guess we go." Andrew patted his friend on the back. "But think of the stories we get to tell when we win."

Asuna held her rapier at the ready. "Kazuto already beat a god when he defeated Kayaba Akihiko at his own game. This is nothing!"

Chandra regarded the exchanges lightly. She didn't start attacking so Kazuto took point. She saw him move closer and smirked. "The mighty Kazuto, Hero of the People."

He blinked, "You know about me?"

She didn't answer. All she did was laugh and spin her staff. "You'll do." When she slammed the base of her weapon against the floor, a loud sound echoed throughout the room. "Defeat me in a one-on-one battle and I will release the girl."

"Kazuto—" Asuna began to caution.

"Fine." Kazuto took out his sword and half glanced back behind him. "Everyone stand back. I'll finish this and we'll be one step closer to having this nightmare be over. We can get back to our lives." However in his mind, he thought, _If I'm the one fighting and there's some kind of trick then at least I'll have the best chance of figuring it out faster._

Chandra poised with her spear a moment before she rushed in. She was fast but not anything Kazuto couldn't handle. He parried her first blow and dipped his weight to the right, spinning around to try and get her on the inside. She proved agile as she dropped to her knees and went under his blade. Then once she was behind him she spun on her knees and used her pike to force Kazuto to jump.

Once he was in the air, normally he would be defenseless. It was a good strategy but such a weakness didn't apply to him anymore. He called out his wings and flew up above her follow-up thrust. What he didn't expect was the fire that flew out of her spear. It struck him in the chest and blasted him back out of the sky.

He had no sooner landed on his back than Chandra came at him ready to run him through. _She's good! Almost like an Amazon!_ Wondering if he might be in over his head he recalled his wings and rolled sideways on the floor to dodge her attack and flipped back to his feet. The two went at it again, the power behind her strikes only getting stronger while Kazuto began to tire.

A fear struck through him when one of her thrusts grazed his cheek when he dodged a second too late. _Do demi-gods even tire!?_ He felt a part of him deep down that thrived in a challenge and came alive in a battle he seemed destined to lose. It happened several times during his time in SAO and even later when he fought Sugou and Death Gun. The more human side of him disappeared and he was only the warrior, only the beater, and solo player who fought for survival.

His attacked gained fervor then and Chandra was immediately on the defensive. Here was a creature who had stolen an innocent person, a victim, and would never answer for their crimes. The girl, who knew what she thought of all this, but she would be traumatized for years to come. Sakura, Hand of Destiny, and even Heaven's Gate…they all used people and they would never answer for it. The unfairness of it boiled Kazuto's blood and he let out a roar of defiance against the system, against fate for forcing him to confront such powers.

All he wanted was Asuna and their daughter, to live out a quiet life away from the front lines but that was denied to him time and time again. _No more! I'm through with your games!_ He drove his sword through Chandra's stomach and lifted it until exited out the top of her head. He didn't know where the cor cube was but the injury would be difficult to come back from nonetheless.

Hot blood ran down Kazuto's sword, soaking his hand. His body trembled as he regained his senses and watched Chandra fall to the ground dead.

Wait…something wasn't right.

Kazuto's vision warped and his legs went out from under him. He dropped to his knees and blood splashed beneath him from the pool that continued to grow beneath the body of the girl...a real life girl, not a hologram. "W-what…is this…?"

"Kazuto!" Asuna and his friends ran up then, completely horrified at the sight. Asuna gasped and turned away, tears springing to her eyes. Ryoutarou covered Keiko's eyes and no one could say a word.

 _S-She was real…? But how…?_ Kazuto shut his eyes and fought against the nausea that twisted his stomach. Kazuto dropped his head and let out a scream. Asuna wrapped her arms around him, still shaking with sobs. No one knew what to do. Everyone was at a complete loss.

Eventually it was Andrew he walked very purposefully forward. He brought down the sheet around the cage to use to wrap the body and that's when they realized it. The girl was Noriko, the girl they had come here to save. He froze with shock, unsure what to do. Saying a quick prayer he brought the sheet over to the body to gingerly wrap. When he was finished, he picked her up and walked her over to one of the giant fires. He hesitated a moment before tossing it into the flames. Ryoutarou came around and hauled Kazuto to his feet.

Asuna wiped away her tears and set her jaw. "Sinon, will you and Rika go and find the projector? Destroy this dungeons' portion of the force field. We'll meet you both back at the entrance." The two complied without a word and Asuna led the group out the opening that appeared with the fall of Chandra. They flew back down to the entrance where they regrouped in silence. How were they to come back from this?

"Aw, isn't this just so sad." Sakura and her guild appeared in the air before the fire dungeon's entrance. She sneered down at Kazuto. "I don't know why you're grieving. I knew exactly what was going to happen. That girl was dead as soon as you let her get kidnapped in the first place."

Asuna took out her rapier. "What is the point of all this, Sakura!? Why blame Kazuto for what your team did? You have the blood of dozens of players—"

"So does he!" Sakura pointed her weapon at Kazuto and there was a deadly craziness in her eyes that wasn't missed. "I know his secret! I know what happened that night the mighty Kirito decided to judge the Laughing Coffin!"

Everyone gasped and though Kazuto opened his mouth to deny it, he said nothing.

Asuna shook her head. "Kazuto wasn't the only one! We all killed that day!"

"But he enjoyed it! He enjoys lording his power over others!" Sakura accused. "Those you didn't kill that day were taken to the prison and they told us how the Black Swordsman reveled in the killing. I'm only proving that to everyone else who still sees him as the hero of SAO! He killed Sachi and now he's killed another innocent! The blood on his hands will never wipe clean!"

A quiet laughter sounded from behind Asuna and when she turned she saw Kazuto staring at the ground with a smile. "I tried to deny it…tried to convince myself that it was for the greater good. But she's right…Sakura, you're right." He looked up at her and the woman smirked with victory. "Sachi and her guild, that was my fault. This girl, Noriko, she was someone's sister and now I've gone and killed her, too."

"That wasn't your fault!" Asuna insisted. "Sakura tricked us!"

Completely ignoring her, Kazuto stepped forward and reached behind him for his sword. "But you forget one little thing, Sakura—leader of the Hand of Destiny."

"And what's that?"

In that instance, something changed in Kazuto. His eyes shrunk into mere dots and the sheer power around him caused rocks and dirt at his feet to lift into the air. He summoned his wings and black feathers flew in chaos around him. "If I revel in death and you've threatened me and my family…what does that say about your future?" Before she could answer, Kazuto blasted towards her, the speed of his attack barely giving her enough time to block. When she did, her body jolted with the impact and she was knocked several feet back.

"So, what, you're going to kill me? Kill the surviving members of my guild?" Sakura taunted. "Go ahead! I doubt your friends will follow a murderer for much longer anyways!"

Asuna took to the air then, their friends quick to follow. "Sakura, you need to stop!" She could sense the change in Kazuto even though Sakura seemed to be ignoring it. Kazuto had snapped and was liable to do something he'd regret if they didn't stop him. "Kazuto, don't listen to her!"

Kazuto let out a roar and continued his attack while Sakura's other members moved to intercept Asuna and her party. _Everything up until this point has been a fantasy. SAO changed me, made me into a killer. Sakura's right. I almost killed Sugou that night in the hospital parking lot. I could have killed him in ALO by changing the pain absorber to zero. I wanted to kill him. I want to kill now. Sakura and the Hand of Destiny, Heaven's Gate, Shinji—they all will fall by my blade._

Sakura was at a severe disadvantage with Kazuto fighting at full strength. She tried to maneuver to get some room for a counter attack but the black swordsman was relentless. She was slammed back towards the fire dungeon when he performed a double spin attack, her back cracking against the pumice stone wall. Kazuto dove down towards her and would have landed a fatal blow but someone moved in front of him, took the hit for her. It was a member of her guild. Blood sprayed her face and the reality of what she had unleashed came crashing down onto her.

"Sakura!" Someone grabbed her arm and the guild began a strategic retreat, leaving behind the discarded body of their friend.

Kazuto took pursuit until Asuna appeared in his flight path. She opened her arms up wide and without realizing it was her he came down with his sword. Asuna gasped and blocked, the ferocity of the blow knocking her out of the sky.

"Asuna!" Ryoutarou flew up and caught her. "Are you alright?"

She winced but was mostly unharmed, just shaken. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Kazuto blinked and it was like he finally calmed down enough to realize what had happened. He looked at Asuna with a look of surprise, guilt, and regret. _What have I done…?_

 _ASUNA_

Asuna brought Kazuto to the bathroom after assuring Yui that none of the blood that covered him was his. She waited for him to undress but when he did nothing but keep staring forward she proceeded to remove his clothes. Some she simply unequipped, some she physically removed. Since they were married their items were shared and she was able to access his menu relatively easily. Using a warm washcloth Asuna got to work cleaning the blood from her husband's body.

"It wasn't your fault, you know. You didn't know." Asuna tried to be encouraging, but the words sounded weak even to her. "This is all Sakura and Shinji's fault, thinking they can manipulate people when it suits them." Asuna used shampoo to wash the blood from his hair and though he didn't help, Kazuto at least dipped his head when she dumped water over him to rinse.

When Kazuto was cleaned she dressed him in a black robe and walked him back to their room. A ringing sound arose and Asuna reached for Kazuto's cell phone that she had placed side before going into the bathroom. It was Chief Haruto. Asuna answered it but kept her voice down. "Chief Haruto, yes hello."

 _"I have the man you brought earlier today. He's awake and asking about his sister. Have you been able to recover her from the dungeon yet?"_

Asuna winced and looked over at Kazuto. It was like he was a puppet whose strings had been cut. Making a decision she closed her eyes. "No, I'm sorry. We tried but when we attempted to get back out of the dungeon with her we were attacked. She…didn't make it." She quickly made up a lie and offered her condolences.

 _"I understand. Thank you for trying. We wouldn't have been able to come as far as we have it not for your husband and friends. Please, keep up the good work. We only have a few dungeons left and these people will be freed."_

"Yes, Chief, thank you. We'll do our best." Asuna hung up the phone and turned to face Kazuto. She opened her mouth to say something when a loud rumble rocked the sky outside. A second later lightning and thunder exploded in a storm outside. Kazuto blinked and looked out the window but when he did nothing more she left him there and rushed downstairs. "What's going on!?"

"It's a lightning storm," Sinon reported, already taking position at the living room window with her bow. "And a pretty nasty one at that."

Rika groaned. "Can't we even get a break!? I get this means we have to go to the lightning dungeon next but we literally just got back from the fire temple! Now they want to send us right back out!?"

Asuna sighed. "They know we're weakened from our previous battle. They're not going to stop. A dungeon a day was them being generous. We're not going to have that luxury anymore."

Ryoutarou glanced out the dining room window and whined. "How are we supposed to fly up in something like that!?"

Suguha shook her head. "How are we going to beat another dungeon with brother like…well, that." She looked to Asuna. "How is he?"

"I don't know. He won't talk to me." Asuna hugged herself. "He says we're partners but when it really matters he shuts me out."

"He's not doing it to be mean." Andrew put a hand on her shoulder. "He doesn't do it on purpose. It's how us men are. We want to shield those we care about and take the brunt of everything. When he's ready, he'll talk to you. I'm sure of it."

Asuna wished she could believe that but with a blow like this she wasn't sure it was something Kazuto could come back from.

HIGH ANGEL RAPHAEL

High Angel Raphael paced in his quarters, his anger apparent in the twitch of his four golden wings. "We were appointed by the gods! How are we then forced to answer to a group of entitled humans who are just as guilty of making an affront to the gods with their false wings as the enemy!?"

His second in command stood by silently. "What if we were to use the lightning dungeon to end them all? So what if we were told not to engage them directly until later. If you decide they need to face judgment then your fellow angels will make it happen, O Great One."

Raphael thought about it. "Perhaps. They are to die anyway so I don't see why we're supposed to allow them the opportunity to fight us here in the Light Temple. We will end them and then the Hand of Destiny will be next."

***  
SAKURA

Sakura was still shaken when they returned to the guild's hideout. Her healer got to work on her wounds but her anger at being outmatched raged like never before. "How dare he! My skills should have been more than powerful enough to stand up to him!? How then did he almost finish me off!?"

"S-Sakura-sama…Heaven's Gate has begun the quest line that will lead Kazuto's group to the Lightning Dungeon. What should we do?"

She growled and picked up a nearby vase to throw across the room at her guild mate. "I'm not going to do anything until I have a word with Shinji and find out why Kazuto has gotten as strong as I am when our stats should be twice what his is! Shinji promised me my revenge and if he doesn't deliver, I'll just as soon strike him with my blade as the next one to stand in my way!"

 _This isn't over, Kazuto. I still have several more ways to make you suffer before the end!_

To be continued…


End file.
